Nicholas of Autrecourt Quotes
Nicholas of Autrecourt was a French scholastic philosopher of the early fourteenth century, sometimes called the medieval Hume for the radical skeptical critique of Aristotelian causal reasoning he developed at the University of Paris. He argued that no inference from one existing thing to another can be evident unless it can be reduced to the principle of non-contradiction, and that, strictly speaking, we have certain knowledge only of immediate appearances. The quotes below are attributed to Nicholas of Autrecourt, organized by topic.
Nicholas of Autrecourt on Knowledge
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Attributed to Nicholas of Autrecourt:
“From the existence of one thing the existence of another cannot be inferred with certainty.”
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Attributed to Nicholas of Autrecourt:
“Aristotle was less certain in his conclusions than his commentators have made him.”
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Attributed to Nicholas of Autrecourt:
“Probability is the most that natural philosophy can attain.”
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Attributed to Nicholas of Autrecourt:
“We should be modest about how much our reasoning truly proves.”
Nicholas of Autrecourt on Truth
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Attributed to Nicholas of Autrecourt:
“Only what can be reduced to the principle of non-contradiction is evident.”