Descartes, René, 1596-1650,
French philosopher, mathematician, and scientist. His philosophy is
called Cartesianism (from Cartesius, the Latin form of his name ). Often called the father of modern
philosophy, he is regarded as the bridge between SCHOLASTICISM and all philosophy that
followed him. Primarily interested in mathematics, he founded ANALYTIC GEOMETRY and
originated the CARTESIAN COORDINATES and Cartesian curves. To algebra he contributed
the treatment of negative roots and the convention of exponent notation. Descartes also contributed
to optics, physiology, and psychology. His Discourse on Method (1637) and Meditations (1641)
contain his important philosophical theories. Intending to extend mathematical method to all areas of
human knowledge, Descartes discarded the authoritarian systems of the scholastic philosophers and
began with universal doubt. Only one thing cannot be doubted: doubt itself. Therefore, the doubter
must exist. This is the kernel of his famous assertion Cogito, ergo sum [I think, therefore I am].
From this certainty Descartes expanded knowledge, step by step, to admit the existence of God (as
the first cause) and the reality of the physical world, which he held to be mechanistic and entirely
divorced from the mind; the only connection between the two is the intervention of God. This is
almost complete DUALISM.
The Concise Columbia Encyclopedia is licensed from Columbia University Press. Copyright ©
1991 by Columbia University Press. All rights reserved.
Return to Homepage.