The Universe Ought To Be Presumed Too

The Entire Universe Is Perfused With Signs, If It Is Not Composed Exclusively Of Signs.

Among The Minor, Yet Striking Characteristics Of Mathematics, May Be Mentioned The Fleshless And Skeletal Build Of Its Propositions; The Peculiar Difficulty, Complication, And Stress Of Its Reasonings; The Perfect Exactitude Of Its Results; Their Broad Universality; Their Practical Infallibility.

It Has Often Been Argued That Absolute Scepticism Is Self-contradictory; But This Is A Mistake: And Even If It Were Not So, It Would Be No Argument Against The Absolute Sceptic, Inasmuch As He Does Not Admit That No Contradictory Propositions Are True. Indeed, It Would Be Impossible To Move Such A Man, For His Scepticism Consists In Considering Every Argument And Never Deciding Upon Its Validity; He Would, Therefore, Act In This Way In Reference To The Arguments Brought Against Him.

We Cannot Begin With Complete Doubt. We Must Begin With All The Prejudices Which We Actually Have When We Enter Upon The Study Ofphilosophy. These Prejudices Are Not To Be Dispelled By A Maxim, For They Are Things Which It Does Not Occur To Us Can Be Questioned. A Person May, It Is True, In The Course Of His Studies, Find Reason To Doubt What He Began By Believing; But In That Case He Doubts Because He Has A Positive Reason For It, And Not On Account Of The Cartesian Maxim. Let Us Not Pretend To Doubt In Philosophy What We Do Not Doubt In Our Hearts.

The Universe Ought To Be Presumed Too Vast To Have Any Character.