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"Descartes" redirects here. For other uses, see Descartes (disambiguation).

Ren Descartes

Portrait afterFrans Hals, 1648[1]

Full name Ren Descartes

Born31 March 1596La Haye en Touraine, Touraine (present-dayDescartes, Indre-et-Loire), France

Died11 February 1650 (aged 53)Stockholm,Sweden

Era 17th-century philosophy

Region Western Philosophy

SchoolCartesianism, Rationalism,Foundationalism

Maininterests

Metaphysics, Epistemology,Mathematics

Notableideas

Cogito ergo sum,method of doubt,Cartesian coordinate system,Cartesiandualism,ontological argument for theexistence of Christian God; Folium ofDescartes

Influenced by[show]

Influenced[show]

Signature

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Part ofa series on

Ren Descartes

CartesianismRationalism

Foundationalism

Doubt and certainty

Dream argument

Cogito ergo sum

Trademark argument

Evil demon

Mind-body dichotomy

Analytic geometry

Coordinate system

Cartesian circleFolium

Rule of signsCartesian diver

Balloonist theory

Works

The World

Discourse on the MethodLa Gomtrie

Meditations on First Philosophy

Principles of Philosophy

Passions of the Soul

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People

Christina of Sweden

Baruch Spinoza

Gottfried Leibniz

vde

Ren DescartesFrench pronunciation:[ ne deka t ]; (31 March 1596 11 February 1650)(Latinizedform:Renatus Cartesius; adjectival form: "Cartesian")[3] was a French philosopherand writer who spent most of his adult life in the Dutch Republic. He has been dubbed the'Father of Modern Philosophy', and much subsequent Western philosophy is a response to hiswritings, which are studied closely to this day. In particular, his Meditations on First Philosophycontinues to be a standard text at most university philosophy departments. Descartes' influence in

mathematics is equally apparent; the Cartesian coordinate systemallowing algebraic equationsto be expressed as geometric shapes (2D coordinate system)was named after him. He iscredited as the father ofanalytical geometry. Descartes was also one of the key figures in theScientific Revolution.

Descartes frequently sets his views apart from those of his predecessors. In the opening sectionof thePassions of the Soul, a treatise on the Early Modernversion of what are now commonlycalled emotions, Descartes goes so far as to assert that he will write on this topic "as if no onehad written on these matters before". Many elements of his philosophy have precedents in lateAristotelianism, the revived Stoicism of the 16th century, or in earlier philosophers like St.Augustine. In his natural philosophy, he differs from the schools on two major points: First, herejects the analysis ofcorporeal substance into matter and form; second, he rejects any appeal to

endsdivine or naturalin explaining natural phenomena. [4] In his theology, he insists on theabsolute freedom of Gods act of creation.

Descartes was a major figure in 17th-century continental rationalism, later advocated by BaruchSpinoza and Gottfried Leibniz, and opposed by the empiricist school of thought consisting ofHobbes, Locke, Berkeley, Jean-Jacques Rousseau, and Hume.

Leibniz, Spinoza and Descartes were all well versed in mathematics as well as philosophy, andDescartes and Leibniz contributed greatly to science as well. As the inventor of theCartesiancoordinate system, Descartes founded analytic geometry, the bridge between algebra andgeometry, crucial to the discovery ofinfinitesimal calculus and analysis.

He is perhaps best known for the philosophical statement "Cogito ergo sum" (French:Je pense,

donc je suis; English:I think, therefore I am; orI am thinking, therefore I existorI do think,therefore I do exist), found in part IV ofDiscourse on the Method(1637 written in French butwith inclusion of "Cogito ergo sum") and 7 of part I ofPrinciples of Philosophy (1644 writtenin Latin).

Contents[hide]

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1 Biography

2 Philosophical work

3 Dualism

4 Mathematical legacy

5 Contemporary reception

6 Religious beliefs

7 Writings

8 See also

9 Notes

10 References

11 External links

[edit] Biography

Graduation registry for Descartes at theCollge Royal Henry-Le-Grand,La Flche, 1616

Descartes was born in La Haye en Touraine (now Descartes),Indre - et- Loire, France. When hewas one year old, his mother Jeanne Brochard died. His father Joachim was a member in theprovincial parliament. At the age of eight, he entered theJesuitCollge Royal Henry-Le-Grandat La Flche.[5] After graduation, he studied at theUniversity of Poitiers, earning aBaccalauratandLicence in law in 1616, in accordance with his father's wishes that he should become alawyer.[6]

"I entirely abandoned the study of letters. Resolving to seek no knowledge other than that ofwhich could be found in myself or else in the great book of the world, I spent the rest of myyouth traveling, visiting courts and armies, mixing with people of diverse temperaments andranks, gathering various experiences, testing myself in the situations which fortune offered me,and at all times reflecting upon whatever came my way so as to derive some profit from it."(Descartes,Discourse on the Method).

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In 1618, Descartes joined the International College of War ofMaurice of Nassauin the DutchRepublic.[7] On 10 November 1618, while walking throughBreda, Descartes met IsaacBeeckman, who sparked his interest in mathematics and the new physics, particularly theproblem of the fall of heavy bodies. While in the service of the DukeMaximilian of Bavaria,Descartes was present at the Battle of the White Mountain outside Prague, in November 1620.[8]

On the night of 1011 November 1619, while stationed in Neuburg an der Donau, Germany,Descartes experienced a series of three powerful dreams orvisionsthat he later claimedprofoundly influenced his life. In the first of these dreams, Descartes found himself buffeted andthrown down by a powerful whirlwind while walking near a college. In the second, he wasawoken by an inexplicable thunder or explosion-like sound in his head to see sparks comingfrom the stove in his room. In the third dream, he finds a great dictionary and an anthology ofancient Latin poets on his bedside table. In the latter book, he reads a verse that begins, "Whatpath shall I follow in life?" Descartes concluded from these visions that the pursuit of sciencewould prove to be, for him, the pursuit of true wisdom and a central part of his life's work. [9]

In 1622 he returned to France, and during the next few years spent time in Paris and other partsof Europe. He arrived in La Haye in 1623, selling all of his property to invest inbonds, which

provided a comfortable income for the rest of his life. Descartes was present at thesiege of LaRochelle by Cardinal Richelieu in 1627.

He returned to the Dutch Republic in 1628, where he lived until September 1649. In April 1629he joined the University of Franeker, living at theSjaerdemaslot, and the next year, under thename "Poitevin", he enrolled at the Leiden University to study mathematics with Jacob Goliusand astronomy with Martin Hortensius.[10] In October 1630 he had a falling out with Beeckman,who he accused of plagiarizing some of his ideas. In Amsterdam, he had a relationship with aservant girl, Helena Jans van der Strom, with whom he had a daughter, Francine, who was bornin 1635 in Deventer, at which time Descartes taught at the Utrecht University. FrancineDescartes died in 1640 in Amersfoort, from Scarlet Fever.

While in the Netherlands he changed his address frequently, living among other places in

Dordrecht (1628), Franeker(1629), Amsterdam (162930), Leiden (1630), Amsterdam (163032), Deventer(163234), Amsterdam (163435), Utrecht (163536), Leiden (1636), Egmond(163638), Santpoort (16381640), Leiden (164041), Endegeest (a castle nearOegstgeest)(164143), and finally for an extended time in Egmond-Binnen(164349).

Despite these frequent moves he wrote all his major work during his 20 plus years in theNetherlands, where he managed to revolutionize mathematics and philosophy. In 1633, Galileowas condemned by the Roman Catholic Church, and Descartes abandoned plans to publishTreatise on the World, his work of the previous four years. "Discourse on the Method" waspublished in 1637. In it Descartes lays out four rules of thought, meant to ensure that ourknowledge rests upon a firm foundation.

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Ren Descartes with Queen Christina of Sweden

Descartes continued topublish works concerning both mathematics and philosophy for the restof his life. In 1643, Cartesian philosophy was condemned at the University of Utrecht, and

Descartes began his long correspondence with Princess Elisabeth of Bohemia. In 1647, he wasawarded a pension by the King of France. Descartes was interviewed by Frans Burman atEgmond-Binnen in 1648.

Ren Descartes died on 11 February 1650 inStockholm, Sweden, where he had been invited as ateacher for Queen Christina of Sweden. The cause of death was said to bepneumoniaaccustomed to working in bed until noon, he may have suffered a detrimental effect on his healthdue to Christina's demands for early morning study (the lack of sleep could have severelycompromised his immune system). Others believe that Descartes may have contractedpneumonia as a result of nursing a French ambassador, Dejion A. Nopeleen, ill with theaforementioned disease, back to health.[11] In his recent book,Der rtselhafte Tod des RenDescartes (The Mysterious Death of Ren Descartes),[12]the German philosopher Theodor

Ebert[13]

asserts that Descartes died not through natural causes, but from an arsenic-lacedcommunion wafer given to him by a Catholic priest. He believes that Jacques Viogu, amissionary working in Stockholm, administered the poison because he feared Descartes's radicaltheological ideas would derail an expected conversion to Roman Catholicism by the monarch ofProtestant Lutheran Sweden.[14]

In 1663, the Pope placed his works on the Index of Prohibited Books.

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The tomb of Descartes (middle, with detail of the inscription), in the Abbey of Saint- Germain -des- Prs, Paris

As a Roman Catholic in a Protestant nation, he was interred in a graveyard mainly used forunbaptized infants in Adolf Fredriks kyrkan in Stockholm. Later, his remains were taken toFrance and buried in the Abbey of Saint- Germain -des- Prs in Paris. Although theNational

Convention in 1792 had planned to transfer his remains to thePanthon, they are, two centurieslater, still resting between two other gravesthose of the scholarly monks Jean Mabillon andBernard de Montfauconin a chapel of the abbey. His memorial, erected in the 18th century,remains in the Swedish church.

[edit] Philosophical workDescartes is often regarded as the first thinker to provide a philosophical framework for thenatural sciencesas these began to develop.[15][16]

Emily Grosholz (1991). Cartesian method and the problem of reduction. Oxford UniversityPress.ISBN0198242506. "But contemporary debate has tended tounderstand [Cartesianmethod] merely as the method of doubtI want to define Descartes's method in broader

termsto trace its impact on the domains of mathematics and physics as well as metaphysics."In hisDiscourse on the Method, he attempts to arrive at a fundamental set of principles that onecan know as true without any doubt. To achieve this, he employs a method calledhyperbolical/metaphysical doubt, also sometimes referred to as methodological skepticism: herejects any ideas that can be doubted, and then reestablishes them in order to acquire a firmfoundation for genuine knowledge.[17]

Initially, Descartes arrives at only a single principle: thought exists. Thought cannot be separatedfrom me, therefore, I exist (Discourse on the MethodandPrinciples of Philosophy). Mostfamously, this is known as cogito ergo sum (English: "I think, therefore I am"). Therefore,Descartes concluded, if he doubted, then something or someone must be doing the doubting,therefore the very fact that he doubted proved his existence. "The simple meaning of the phrase

is that if one is skeptical of existence, that is in and of itself proof that he does exist."[18]

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Ren Descartes at work

Descartes concludes that he can be certain that he exists because he thinks. But in what form? Heperceives his body through the use of the senses; however, these have previously been unreliable.So Descartes determines that the only indubitable knowledge is that he is a thinking thing.Thinking is what he does, and his power must come from his essence. Descartes defines"thought" (cogitatio) as "what happens in me such that I am immediately conscious of it, insofaras I am conscious of it". Thinking is thus every activity of a person of which he is immediatelyconscious.[19]

To further demonstrate the limitations of the senses, Descartes proceeds with what is known asthe Wax Argument. He considers a piece of wax; his senses inform him that it has certaincharacteristics, such as shape, texture, size, color, smell, and so forth. When he brings the waxtowards a flame, these characteristics change completely. However, it seems that it is still thesame thing: it is still the same piece of wax, even though the data of the senses inform him thatall of its characteristics are different. Therefore, in order to properly grasp the nature of the wax,he should put aside the senses. He must use his mind. Descartes concludes:

In this manner, Descartes proceeds to construct a system of knowledge, discardingperception as

unreliable and instead admitting onlydeduction as a method. In the third and fifthMeditation, heoffers an ontological proofof a benevolent God (through both the ontological argument andtrademark argument). Because God is benevolent, he can have some faith in the account ofreality his senses provide him, for God has provided him with a working mind and sensorysystem and does not desire to deceive him. From this supposition, however, he finally establishesthe possibility of acquiring knowledge about the world based on deduction andperception. Interms ofepistemologytherefore, he can be said to have contributed such ideas as a rigorous

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conception offoundationalism and the possibility that reason is the only reliable method ofattaining knowledge.

In Descartes's system, knowledge takes the form of ideas, and philosophical investigation is thecontemplation of these ideas. This concept would influence subsequentinternalist movements asDescartes's epistemology requires that a connection made by conscious awareness will

distinguish knowledge from falsity. As a result of his Cartesian doubt, he viewed rationalknowledge as being "incapable of being destroyed" and sought to construct an unshakableground upon which all other knowledge can be based. The first item of unshakable knowledgethat Descartes argues for is the aforementioned cogito, or thinking thing.

Descartes also wrote a response to skepticism about the existence of the external world. Heargues that sensory perceptionscome to him involuntarily, and are not willed by him. They areexternal to his senses, and according to Descartes, this is evidence of the existence of somethingoutside of his mind, and thus, an external world. Descartes goes on to show that the things in theexternal world are material by arguing that God would not deceive him as to the ideas that arebeing transmitted, and that God has given him the "propensity" to believe that such ideas arecaused by material things.

Descartes was also known for his work in producing the Cartesian Theory of Fallacies. This canbe most easily explored using the statement: "This statement is a lie." While it is most commonlyreferred to as aparadox, the Cartesian Theory of Fallacies states that at any given time astatement can be both true and false simultaneously because of its contradictory nature. Thestatement is true in its fallacy. Thus, Descartes developed the Cartesian Theory of Fallacies,which greatly influenced the thinking of the time. Many would-be philosophers were trying todevelop inexplicable statements of seeming fact, however, this laid rumors of such a propositionimpossible. Many philosophers believe that when Descartes formulated his Theory of Fallacies,he intended to be lying, which in and of itself embodies the theory.[citation needed]

[edit] Dualism

Further information:Mind-body dichotomy and dualismDescartes in his Passions of the Soul and The Description of the Human Body suggested that thebody works like a machine, that it has the material properties of extension and motion, and that itfollows the laws of physics. The mind (orsoul), on the other hand, was described as anonmaterialentity that lacks extension and motion, and does not follow the laws of physics.Descartes argued that only humans have minds, and that the mind interacts with the body at thepineal gland. This form ofdualism or duality proposes that the mind controls the body, but thatthe body can also influence the otherwise rational mind, such as when people act out of passion.Most of the previous accounts of the relationship between mind and body had been uni-directional.

Descartes suggested that thepineal gland is "the seat of the soul" for several reasons. First, the

soul is unitary, and unlike many areas of the brain the pineal gland appeared to be unitary(though subsequent microscopic inspection has revealed it is formed of two hemispheres).Second, Descartes observed that the pineal gland was located near theventricles. He believed thecerebrospinal fluidof the ventricles acted through the nerves to control the body, and that thepineal gland influenced this process. Finally, although Descartes realized that both humans andanimals have pineal glands (seePassions of the SoulPart One, Section 50, AT 369), he believedthat only humans have minds. This led him to the belief that animals cannot feel pain, andDescartes's practice ofvivisection (the dissection of live animals) became widely used

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throughout Europe until the Enlightenment. Cartesian dualism set the agenda for philosophicaldiscussion of the mindbody problemfor many years after Descartes's death.

[edit] Mathematical legacyDescartes's theory provided the basis for the calculus ofNewton and Leibniz, by applying

infinitesimal calculus to the tangent line problem, thus permitting the evolution of that branch ofmodern mathematics.[20] This appears even more astounding considering that the work was justintended as an example to hisDiscours de la mthode pour bien conduire sa raison, et chercherla verit dans les sciences (Discourse on the Method of Rightly Conducting the Reason, andSearching for Truth in the Sciences, better known under the shortened titleDiscours de lamthode; English,Discourse on the Method).

Descartes' rule of signs is also a commonly used method to determine the number of positive andnegative roots of a polynomial.

Descartes created analytic geometry, and discovered an early form of the law of conservation ofmomentum (the term momentum refers to the momentum of a force). He outlined his views onthe universe in his Principles of Philosophy.

Descartes also made contributions to the field ofoptics. He showed by using geometricconstruction and the law of refraction(also known as Descartes's law or more commonly Snell'slaw, who discovered it 16 years earlier) that the angular radius of a rainbow is 42 degrees (i.e.,the angle subtended at the eye by the edge of the rainbow and the ray passing from the sunthrough the rainbow's centre is 42).[21] He also independently discovered the law of reflection,and his essay on optics was the first published mention of this law. [22]

One of Descartes most enduring legacies was his development ofCartesian geometry, whichuses algebra to describe geometry. He "invented the convention of representing unknowns inequations byx,y, andz, and knowns by a, b, and c". He also "pioneered the standard notation"that uses superscripts to show the powers or exponents, for example the 4 used in x4 to indicatesquaring of squaring.[23]

[edit] Contemporary receptionAlthough Descartes was well known in academic circles towards the end of his life, the teachingof his works in schools was controversial. Henri de Roy (Henricus Regius, 15981679),Professor of Medicine at the University of Utrecht, was condemned by the Rector of theUniversity, Gijsbert Voet (Voetius), for teaching Descartes's physics.[24]

[edit] Religious beliefsThe religious beliefs of Ren Descartes have been rigorously debated within scholarly circles. Heclaimed to be a devout Roman Catholic, claiming that one of the purposes of the Meditationswas to defend the Christian faith. However, in his own era, Descartes was accused of harboring

secret deist oratheist beliefs. Contemporary Blaise Pascal said that "I cannot forgive Descartes;in all his philosophy, Descartes did his best to dispense with God. But Descartes could not avoidprodding God to set the world in motion with a snap of his lordly fingers; after that, he had nomore use for God."[25]

Stephen Gaukroger's biography of Descartes reports that "he had a deep religious faith as aCatholic, which he retained to his dying day, along with a resolute, passionate desire to discoverthe truth."[26] After Descartes died in Sweden, Queen Christina abdicated her throne to convert to

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Roman Catholicism (Swedish law required a Protestant ruler). The only Roman Catholic withwhom she had prolonged contact was Descartes, who was her personal tutor.[citation needed]

[edit] Writings

Handwritten letter by Descartes, December 1638.

1618. Compendium Musicae. A treatise on music theory and the aesthetics of musicwritten for Descartes's early collaborator Isaac Beeckman.

16261628.Regulae ad directionem ingenii (Rules for the Direction of the Mind).Incomplete. First published posthumously in 1684. The best critical edition, whichincludes an early Dutch translation, is edited by Giovanni Crapulli (The Hague: MartinusNijhoff, 1966).

16301633.Le Monde (The World) andL'Homme (Man). Descartes's first systematicpresentation of his natural philosophy. Man was published posthumously in Latintranslation in 1662; and The Worldposthumously in 1664.

1637.Discours de la mthode (Discourse on the Method). An introduction to theEssais,which include theDioptrique, the Mtores and the Gomtrie.

1637.La Gomtrie (Geometry). Descartes's major work in mathematics. There is an

English translation by Michael Mahoney (New York: Dover, 1979).

1641. Meditationes de prima philosophia (Meditations on First Philosophy), also knownas Metaphysical Meditations. In Latin; a French translation, probably done withoutDescartes's supervision, was published in 1647. Includes six Objections and Replies. Asecond edition, published the following year, included an additional objection and reply,and aLetter to Dinet.

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1644.Principia philosophiae (Principles of Philosophy), a Latin textbook at firstintended by Descartes to replace the Aristotelian textbooks then used in universities. AFrench translation,Principes de philosophie by Claude Picot, under the supervision ofDescartes, appeared in 1647 with a letter-preface to Queen Christina of Sweden.

1647.Notae in programma (Comments on a Certain Broadsheet). A reply to Descartes's

one-time disciple Henricus Regius. 1647. The Description of the Human Body. Published posthumously.

1648.Responsiones Renati Des Cartes (Conversation with Burman). Notes on a Q&Asession between Descartes and Frans Burman on 16 April 1648. Rediscovered in 1895and published for the first time in 1896. An annotated bilingual edition (Latin withFrench translation), edited by Jean-Marie Beyssade, was published in 1981 (Paris: PUF).

1649.Les passions de l'me (Passions of the Soul). Dedicated to Princess Elizabeth ofBohemia.

1656. Musicae Compendium (Instruction in Music). Posth. Publ.: Johannes Janssoniusjun., Amsterdam

1657. Correspondence. Published by Descartes's literary executor Claude Clerselier. Thethird edition, in 1667, was the most complete; Clerselier omitted, however, much of thematerial pertaining to mathematics.

In January 2010, a previously unknown letter from Descartes, dated 27 May 1641, was found bythe Dutch philosopherErik-Jan Bos when browsing through Google. Bos found the lettermentioned in a summary of autographs kept by Haverford College in Haverford, Pennsylvania.The College was unaware that the letter had never been published. This was the third letter byDescartes found in the last 25 years.[27][28]

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