---
title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: in our reasonings concerning matter of…"
description: "\"“in our reasonings concerning matter of fact, there are all imaginable degrees of assurance, from the highest certainty to the lowest species of moral ..."
image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f7a/tim-noakes-12730_certainty_in-our-reasonings-concerning-matter-of-f_3013548.jpg"
---

#  in our reasonings concerning matter of fact, there are all…

![“in our reasonings concerning matter of fact, there are all imaginable degrees of assurance, from the highest certainty to the lowest species of moral evidence. A wise man, therefore, proportions his belief to the evidence.’ – David Hume, Scottish philosopher” quote by Tim Noakes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f7a/tim-noakes-12730_certainty_in-our-reasonings-concerning-matter-of-f_3013548.jpg)   [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f7a/tim-noakes-12730_certainty_in-our-reasonings-concerning-matter-of-f_3013548.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f7a/tim-noakes-12730_certainty_in-our-reasonings-concerning-matter-of-f_3013548.jpg)

> ““in our reasonings concerning matter of fact, there are all imaginable degrees of assurance, from the highest certainty to the lowest species of moral evidence. A wise man, therefore, proportions his belief to the evidence.’ – David Hume, Scottish philosopher””

[Tim Noakes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tim-noakes/)

## About This Quote

This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation.

Belief should match the strength of evidence, ranging from certainty to moral doubt.

**In simple terms:** Match belief to evidence.

Key Takeaway

Base conclusions on evidence.

Themes

epistemology reason evidence

Mood

inquisitive reflective

Type

philosophical educational

When to use this quote

- scientific research
- legal judgments
- personal decisions

Key Concepts

philosophy critical thinking

Questions to Reflect On

- How do you assess evidence quality?
- When should you hold a belief despite weak evidence?

A Different Perspective

Evidence can be ambiguous, making belief uncertain.

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[Certainty](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/certainty/) [Confidence](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/confidence/) [Faith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/faith/) [Philosophy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/philosophy/) [Wise man](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/wise-man/)

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> [In every page of David Hume, there is more to be learned than from Hegel's, Herbart's and Schleiermacher's complete philosophical works.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arthur-schopenhauer/in-every-page-of-david-hume-there-is-more-to-be-learned-than-from/)

[Arthur Schopenhauer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arthur-schopenhauer/)

> [ “\[On David Hume\] Although he never admitted to being an atheist as such, he was clearly and unquestionably the most vividly elegant skeptic of… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jonathan-miller/on-david-hume-although-he-never-admitted-to-being-an-atheist-as-such/)

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> [“The Scots studied the past to understand the present, and of course improve it. Like the ancient Greeks and the Chinese, they knew that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eric-weiner/the-scots-studied-the-past-to-understand-the-present-and-of-course/)

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> [“I have always considered David Hume as approaching as nearly the idea of a perfectly wise and virtuous man as perhaps the nature of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/adam-smith/i-have-always-considered-david-hume-as-approaching-as-nearly-the-idea/)

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> [The first-cause and prime-mover argument, brilliantly proffered by St. Thomas Aquinas in the fourteenth century (and brilliantly refuted by David Hume in the eighteenth…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-shermer/the-first-cause-and-prime-mover-argument-brilliantly-proffered-by-st/)

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[William Barrett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-barrett/)

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[Adam Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/adam-smith/)

## More by Tim Noakes

> [“Harcombe explained in detail why CICO is an inadequate model, not least because it contradicts one of the laws of thermodynamics. Tongue-in-cheek, she quoted…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tim-noakes/harcombe-explained-in-detail-why-cico-is-an-inadequate-model-not/)

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> [In that he didn't die at the finish line, he could have run faster](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tim-noakes/in-that-he-didn-t-die-at-the-finish-line-he-could-have-run-faster/)

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[Explore all 53 Tim Noakes quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tim-noakes/)

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