“ It is useful to know something of the manners of different nations, that we may be enabled to form a more correct judgment regarding our own, and be prevented from thinking that everything contrary to our customs is ridiculous and irrational, a conclusion usually come to by those whose experience has been limited to their limited to their own country. ”
René Descartes, Discourse on the Method (1637). copy citation
| Author | René Descartes |
|---|---|
| Source | Discourse on the Method |
| Topic | experience judgement custom |
| Date | 1637 |
| Language | English |
| Reference | |
| Note | |
| Weblink | http://www.gutenberg.org/files/59/59-h/59-h.htm |
Context
“But I believed that I had already given sufficient time to languages, and likewise to the reading of the writings of the ancients, to their histories and fables. For to hold converse with those of other ages and to travel, are almost the same thing. It is useful to know something of the manners of different nations, that we may be enabled to form a more correct judgment regarding our own, and be prevented from thinking that everything contrary to our customs is ridiculous and irrational, a conclusion usually come to by those whose experience has been limited to their own country. On the other hand, when too much time is occupied in traveling, we become strangers to our native country; and the over curious in the customs of the past are generally ignorant of those of the present.”
source
Meaning and analysis
