--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: It is a question of fact, whether the…" description: "\"It is a question of fact, whether the influence of motives be fixed by laws of nature, so that they shall always have the same effect in the same circu..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/62c/thomas-reid-22153_circumstances_it-is-a-question-of-fact-whether-the-inf_566305.jpg" --- # It is a question of fact, whether the influence of motives… ![“It is a question of fact, whether the influence of motives be fixed by laws of nature, so that they shall always have the same effect in the same circumstances.” quote by Thomas Reid](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/62c/thomas-reid-22153_circumstances_it-is-a-question-of-fact-whether-the-inf_566305.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/62c/thomas-reid-22153_circumstances_it-is-a-question-of-fact-whether-the-inf_566305.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/62c/thomas-reid-22153_circumstances_it-is-a-question-of-fact-whether-the-inf_566305.jpg) > “It is a question of fact, whether the influence of motives be fixed by laws of nature, so that they shall always have the same effect in the same circumstances.” [Thomas Reid](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-reid/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Motives may be subject to natural laws, producing consistent outcomes under identical conditions. **In simple terms:** Motives can be predictable if they follow natural laws. Key Takeaway Recognize patterns in motives to anticipate behavior. Themes causality determinism human nature ethics Mood analytical inquisitive Type philosophical theoretical When to use this quote - legal judgments - personal decisions - policy making Key Concepts philosophy psychology law of nature Questions to Reflect On - Are motives always deterministic? - What role does free will play? A Different Perspective Motives are also shaped by free will and context, limiting strict predictability. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Influence](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/influence/) [Motives](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/motives/) [Nature](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/nature/) ## Related quotes > [All things obey fixed laws.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lucretius/all-things-obey-fixed-laws/) [Lucretius](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lucretius/) > [Everything in nature is the result of fixed laws.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-darwin/everything-in-nature-is-the-result-of-fixed-laws/) [Charles Darwin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-darwin/) > [“Art needs motives that are more profound than profit if it is to maintain its difference from—and position above—other cultural forms.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sarah-thornton/art-needs-motives-that-are-more-profound-than-profit-if-it-is-to/) [Sarah Thornton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sarah-thornton/) > [“This was what growing up was about: hide the corpse, don't bare your heart, do make assumptions about the motives of others. They're certainly…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/abraham-verghese/this-was-what-growing-up-was-about-hide-the-corpse-don-t-bare-your/) [Abraham Verghese](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/abraham-verghese/) > [“Maybe sometimes the motive behind people’s terrorizing acts isn’t just because of their beliefs or past or some complex and twisted logic. Sometimes their…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-torres/maybe-sometimes-the-motive-behind-people-s-terrorizing-acts-isn-t/) [David Torres](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-torres/) > [“how could I have been so naive before, thinking perhaps everyone had good motives, that everyone has a good side to them, even though…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lotus-rose/how-could-i-have-been-so-naive-before-thinking-perhaps-everyone-had/) Lotus Rose > [Relationships, for me, have been elusive. And I would say mostly it's been my fault. I was always more concentrated on my career. And…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nathan-lane/relationships-for-me-have-been-elusive-and-i-would-say-mostly-it-s/) [Nathan Lane](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nathan-lane/) > [I never desire to know anything of the detail of political measures, lest even those which I think best should lose anything of their…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fanny-kemble/i-never-desire-to-know-anything-of-the-detail-of-political-measures/) [Fanny Kemble](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fanny-kemble/) > [“motives are like little flies flying around in my room. I believe I've killed most of them”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dmitry-dyatlov/motives-are-like-little-flies-flying-around-in-my-room-i-believe-i-ve/) [Dmitry Dyatlov](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dmitry-dyatlov/) > [Getting down to the nitty-gritty, most people are motivated by unconscious motives most of the time.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/getting-down-to-the-nitty-gritty-most-people-are-motivated-by/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [“It is usual to explain the motivation of those who enjoy dangerous activities as some sort of pathological need: they are trying to exorcise…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mihaly-csikszentmihalyi/it-is-usual-to-explain-the-motivation-of-those-who-enjoy-dangerous/) [Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mihaly-csikszentmihalyi/) > [“People have motives, what they are, is what you need to notice.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/s-d-walker/people-have-motives-what-they-are-is-what-you-need-to-notice/) S.D. Walker > [It is hard to work for years with pure motives, and all the time be looked upon by most of those to whom our…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-livingstone/it-is-hard-to-work-for-years-with-pure-motives-and-all-the-time-be/) [David Livingstone](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-livingstone/) > [Behind many acts that are thought ridiculous there lie wise and weighty motives.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/francois-de-la-rochefoucauld/behind-many-acts-that-are-thought-ridiculous-there-lie-wise-and/) [Francois de La Rochefoucauld](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/francois-de-la-rochefoucauld/) > [You can drive yourself crazy trying to peer into a person's soul--or you can do the sensible thing: ask not what inner motives drive…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-begala/you-can-drive-yourself-crazy-trying-to-peer-into-a-person-s-soul-or/) [Paul Begala](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-begala/) ## More by Thomas Reid > [The want of faith, as well as faith itself, is best shewn by works. If a sceptic avoid the fire as much as those…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-reid/the-want-of-faith-as-well-as-faith-itself-is-best-shewn-by-works-if-a/) [Thomas Reid](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-reid/) > [Every man feels that perception gives him an invincible belief of the existence of that which he perceives; and that this belief is not…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-reid/every-man-feels-that-perception-gives-him-an-invincible-belief-of-the/) [Thomas Reid](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-reid/) > [We find sects and parties in most branches of science; and disputes which are carried on from age to age, without being brought to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-reid/we-find-sects-and-parties-in-most-branches-of-science-and-disputes/) [Thomas Reid](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-reid/) > [Every conjecture we can form with regard to the works of God has as little probability as the conjectures of a child with regard…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-reid/every-conjecture-we-can-form-with-regard-to-the-works-of-god-has-as/) [Thomas Reid](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-reid/) > [When we contemplate the world of Epicurus, and conceive the universe to be a fortuitous jumble of atoms, there is nothing grand in this…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-reid/when-we-contemplate-the-world-of-epicurus-and-conceive-the-universe/) [Thomas Reid](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-reid/) > [The rules of navigation never navigated a ship. The rules of architecture never built a house.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-reid/the-rules-of-navigation-never-navigated-a-ship-the-rules-of/) [Thomas Reid](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-reid/) > [There is no greater impediment to the advancement of knowledge than the ambiguity of words. To this chiefly it is owing that we find…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-reid/there-is-no-greater-impediment-to-the-advancement-of-knowledge-than/) [Thomas Reid](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-reid/) > [But when, in the first setting out, he takes it for granted without proof, that distinctions found in the structure of all languages, have…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-reid/but-when-in-the-first-setting-out-he-takes-it-for-granted-without/) [Thomas Reid](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-reid/) > [For, until the wisdom of men bear some proportion to the wisdom of God, their attempts to find out the structure of his works,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-reid/for-until-the-wisdom-of-men-bear-some-proportion-to-the-wisdom-of-god/) [Thomas Reid](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-reid/) > [For the perception of the beautiful we have the term "taste"--a metaphor taken from that which is passive in the body and transferred to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-reid/for-the-perception-of-the-beautiful-we-have-the-term-taste-a-metaphor/) [Thomas Reid](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-reid/) > [And, if we have any evidence that the wisdom which formed the plan is in the man, we have the very same evidence, that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-reid/and-if-we-have-any-evidence-that-the-wisdom-which-formed-the-plan-is/) [Thomas Reid](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-reid/) > [must acknowledge, that to act properly is much more valuable than to think justly or reason acutely.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-reid/must-acknowledge-that-to-act-properly-is-much-more-valuable-than-to/) [Thomas Reid](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-reid/) > [I sit in my loft with the haves and look out at the have-nots - the bottom of the bottom - and I have…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-reid/i-sit-in-my-loft-with-the-haves-and-look-out-at-the-have-nots-the/) [Thomas Reid](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-reid/) > [ \[I\]f a man bred to the seafaring life, and accustomed to think and talk only of matters relating to navigation, enters into discourse upon… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-reid/i-f-a-man-bred-to-the-seafaring-life-and-accustomed-to-think-and-talk/) [Thomas Reid](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-reid/) > [It is the invaluable merit of the great Basle mathematician Leonard Euler, to have freed the analytical calculus from all geometric bounds, and thus…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-reid/it-is-the-invaluable-merit-of-the-great-basle-mathematician-leonard/) [Thomas Reid](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-reid/) [Explore all 28 Thomas Reid quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-reid/) ## More Circumstances quotes > [I'm often moved by the circumstances around some of my characters, but I don't think I've actually cried watching myself.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kate-winslet/i-m-often-moved-by-the-circumstances-around-some-of-my-characters-but/) [Kate Winslet](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kate-winslet/) > [Jobs and money are never the primary cause of stress. Thinking, negative thinking causes stress. The real cause of all problems lie in our…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bob-proctor/jobs-and-money-are-never-the-primary-cause-of-stress-thinking/) [Bob Proctor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bob-proctor/) > [Although under particular circumstances, the violence method - any method - can be justified, nevertheless once you commit violence, then counterviolence will be returned.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dalai-lama/although-under-particular-circumstances-the-violence-method-any/) [Dalai Lama](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dalai-lama/) > [Balance is the ability to be happy in the midst of the most chaotic or even boring or transient circumstance.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frederick-lenz/balance-is-the-ability-to-be-happy-in-the-midst-of-the-most-chaotic/) [Frederick Lenz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frederick-lenz/) > [Trust is about keeping commitments, but in many instances, circumstances change and organizations therefore shed commitments, things such as retiree medical benefits, pension obligations,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jeffrey-pfeffer/trust-is-about-keeping-commitments-but-in-many-instances/) [Jeffrey Pfeffer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jeffrey-pfeffer/) > [The fortunate circumstances of our lives are generally found, at last, to be of our own producing.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/oliver-goldsmith/the-fortunate-circumstances-of-our-lives-are-generally-found-at-last/) [Oliver Goldsmith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/oliver-goldsmith/) > [“The set of circumstances that justifies the use of deadly force is a situation of immediate danger of death or great bodily harm to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/massad-ayoob/the-set-of-circumstances-that-justifies-the-use-of-deadly-force-is-a/) [Massad Ayoob](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/massad-ayoob/) > [My sister-in-law works for a group that supports orphanages in Cairo. She and her colleagues take care of children left behind by circumstances beyond…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mohamed-elbaradei/my-sister-in-law-works-for-a-group-that-supports-orphanages-in-cairo/) [Mohamed ElBaradei](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mohamed-elbaradei/) > [It's impossible to know who Donald might have been under different circumstances and with different parents.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mary-l-trump/it-s-impossible-to-know-who-donald-might-have-been-under-different/) [Mary L. Trump](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mary-l-trump/) > [When we watch a play under the standard circumstances, we've lost volition and time is passing. A still play feels like an existential threat.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-greenberg/when-we-watch-a-play-under-the-standard-circumstances-we-ve-lost/) [Richard Greenberg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-greenberg/) > [Being positive helps you to keep away negative thoughts. And helps you to stand in adverse circumstances with the hope that in the end…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anurag-prakash-ray/being-positive-helps-you-to-keep-away-negative-thoughts-and-helps-you/) [Anurag Prakash Ray](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anurag-prakash-ray/) > [It seemed to me that the human beings I met reacted pretty much the same to the same stimuli. Different idioms,yes. Circumstances and conditions…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/zora-neale-hurston/it-seemed-to-me-that-the-human-beings-i-met-reacted-pretty-much-the/) [Zora Neale Hurston](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/zora-neale-hurston/) > [I don't think you would have missed that putt, but in these circumstances, I would never give you the opportunity.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jack-nicklaus/i-don-t-think-you-would-have-missed-that-putt-but-in-these/) [Jack Nicklaus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jack-nicklaus/) > [I used to think I could shape the circumstances around me, but now I know Jesus uses circumstances to shape me.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bob-goff/i-used-to-think-i-could-shape-the-circumstances-around-me-but-now-i/) [Bob Goff](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bob-goff/) > [Instead of complaining about your circumstances, get busy creating new ones. You either suffer the pain of discipline or the pain of regret.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/instead-of-complaining-about-your-circumstances-get-busy-creating-new/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) Browse all 4,560 Circumstances quotes ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "It is a question of fact, whether the influence of motives be fixed by laws of nature, so that they shall always have the same effect in the same circumstances.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Thomas Reid" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-reid/it-is-a-question-of-fact-whether-the-influence-of-motives-be-fixed-by/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Circumstances" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-reid/it-is-a-question-of-fact-whether-the-influence-of-motives-be-fixed-by/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/62c/thomas-reid-22153_circumstances_it-is-a-question-of-fact-whether-the-inf_566305.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/62c/thomas-reid-22153_circumstances_it-is-a-question-of-fact-whether-the-inf_566305.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/62c/thomas-reid-22153_circumstances_it-is-a-question-of-fact-whether-the-inf_566305.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“It is a question of fact, whether the influence of motives be fixed by laws of nature, so that they shall…” — Thomas Reid", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } }, { "@type": "BreadcrumbList", "itemListElement": [ { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 1, "name": "Home", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 2, "name": "Quotes", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 3, "name": "Thomas Reid", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-reid/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "It is a question of fact,...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-reid/it-is-a-question-of-fact-whether-the-influence-of-motives-be-fixed-by/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-reid/it-is-a-question-of-fact-whether-the-influence-of-motives-be-fixed-by/#breadcrumb" }, { "@type": "WebSite", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "publisher": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } }, { "@type": "Organization", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "logo": { "@type": "ImageObject", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/themes/sq/assets/icons/icon-512.png", "width": 512, "height": 512 } } ] } ```