“ Those who are accustomed to judge by feeling do not understand the process of reasoning, for they would understand at first sight, and are not used to seek for principles. ”
Blaise Pascal, Pensées (1670). copy citation
| Author | Blaise Pascal |
|---|---|
| Source | Pensées |
| Topic | understanding sight |
| Date | 1670 |
| Language | English |
| Reference | |
| Note | Translated by W. F. Trotter |
| Weblink | http://www.gutenberg.org/files/18269/18269-h/18269-h.htm |
Context
“the other able to comprehend a great number of premises without confusing them, and this is the mathematical intellect. The one has force and exactness, the other comprehension. Now the one quality can exist without the other; the intellect can be strong and narrow, and can also be comprehensive and weak.
3
Those who are accustomed to judge by feeling do not understand the process of reasoning, for they would understand at first sight, and are not used to seek for principles. And others, on the contrary, who are accustomed to reason from principles, do not at all understand matters of feeling, seeking principles, and being unable to see at a glance.
4
Mathematics, intuition.—True eloquence makes light of eloquence, true morality makes light of morality;”
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