On this account the majority attend to words rather than
to things; and thus very frequently assent to terms without
attaching to them any meaning, either because they think they once
understood them, or imagine they received them from others by whom
they were correctly understood. This, however, is not the place to
treat of this matter in detail, seeing the nature of the human body
has not yet been expounded, nor the existence even of body
established; enough, nevertheless, appears to have been said to
enable one to distinguish such of our conceptions as are clear and
distinct from those that are obscure and confused.
LXXV. Summary of what must be observed in order to philosophize
correctly.
Wherefore if we would philosophize in earnest, and give ourselves to
the search after all the truths we are capable of knowing, we must,
in the first place, lay aside our prejudices; in other words, we
must take care scrupulously to withhold our assent from the opinions
we have formerly admitted, until upon new examination we discover
that they are true. We must, in the next place, make an orderly
review of the notions we have in our minds, and hold as true all and
only those which we will clearly and distinctly apprehend.
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