So that the greatest advantage I derived from the study consisted in this, that, observing many things which, however extravagant and ridiculous to our apprehension, are yet by common consent received and approved by other great nations, I learned to entertain too decided a belief in regard to nothing of the truth of which I had been persuaded merely by example and custom: and thus I gradually extricated myself from many errors powerful enough to darken our Natural Intelligence, and incapacitate us in great measure from listening to Reason.

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In this passage from Discourse on the Method, Descartes emphasizes the importance of questioning commonly accepted beliefs and customs. By observing that practices which may seem absurd to one group can be accepted as truth by another, he learns not to rely solely on tradition or common consent when forming his beliefs. Instead, Descartes advocates for critical thinking and caution against accepting ideas simply because they are widespread or habitual. This approach allows him to gradually free himself from errors that can obscure our natural intelligence and hinder our ability to reason effectively.

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René Descartes

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summer

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Discourse on the Method (Veitch translation)

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But after I had been occupied several years in thus studying the book of the world, and in essaying to gather some experience, I at length resolved to make myself an object of study, and to employ all the powers of my mind in choosing the paths I ought to follow; an undertaking which was accompanied with greater success than it would have been had I never quitted my country or my books.

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It is true that, while busied only in considering the manners of other men, I found here, too, scarce any ground for settled conviction, and remarked hardly less contradiction among them than in the opinions of the philosophers.