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Descartes

Descartes Descartes (d[asl]*k[aum]rt") prop. n. Ren[ e] Descartes, a French philosopher and mathematician, born 159, died 1650. See biography, below.

Syn: Rene Descartes. [WordNet 1.5] Descartes, Ren[ e] (Latinized Renatus Cartesius). Born at La Haye, Touraine, France, March 31, 1596: died at Stockholm, Feb. 11, 1650. A. celebrated French philosopher, founder of Cartesianism and of modern philosophy in general. He was graduated at seventeen from the Jesuit college of La Fl[`e]che, spent five years in Paris (1613-18), and then roamed about in search of knowledge in Germany, Italy, Holland, and Poland. In 1628 he attended the siege of La Rochelle as a volunteer. From 1629 to 1649 he led a retired life in Holland, spreading and defending his philosophical ideas. He finally went to Stockholm on the invitation of Queen Christina of Sweden; five months later he died there of pneumonia. The work that has made him famous as a philosopher is a short treatise entitled "Discours de la m[ e]thode" (Leyden, 1637). It was published in French together with three essays in support of his theories, "La dioptrique," "Les m[ e]t[ e]ores," and "La g[ e]om[ e]trie." In it he revolutionized the science of thought. Descartes himself published during his lifetime "Meditationes de prima philosophia "(Paris, 1641; Amsterdam, 1642; translated into French, 1647), "Principia philosophiae" (Amsterdam, 1644), "Trait[ e] des passions de l [^a]me" (Amsterdam, 1649), and a polemic pamphlet entitled "Epistola Renati Descartes ad Gisbertum Vo[eum]itum" (Amsterdam, 1643). After his death his friends published his "De l homme" (1664), "Trait[ e] de la formation du foetus" (1664), "Le monde ou trait[ e] de la lumi[`e]re de Descartes" (1664), "Lettres" (1657-67), and "Opuscula posthuma, physica et mathematica" (Amsterdam, 1701). Descartes ranked among the foremost mathematicians of his day. A separate reprint was made of his geometry, and the work itself was translated into Latin in 1649, and re[eum]dited in 1659 with notes and comments. In this form it constituted a classic standard throughout Europe, and presented an entirely new basis for the study of algebra and geometry. [Century Dict. 1906]

René Descartes fue un filósofo francés, uno de los percursores de la filosofía moderna. Instasifecho de sus estudios de escolástica y jurisprudencia pasó por algunos años de escpeticismo y consagró su vida al "libro del mundo" y al campamento militar. Y justamente fue en uno de estos cuando tuvo su "revelación intelectual", de la que luego escribiría "El discurso del método". La verdad esencial "pienso, luego soy" es la evidencia que caracteriza sus ideas y las reglas de método racionalista del que se lo considera fundador.

Descartes divide al mundo en sustancia espiritual y material, cuyos atributos esenciales son, respectivamente, pensamiento y extensión, y propone para las ciencias de la naturaleza el método del mecanicismo determinista.

Fue también creador de la geometría analítica.