Descartes

[dey-kahrt, dey-kart]

noun

1. René 1596–1650, French philosopher and mathematician.

Descartes

/ ˈdeɪˌkɑːt, dekart /

noun

1. René (rəne). 1596–1650, French philosopher and mathematician. He provided a mechanistic basis for the philosophical theory of dualism and is regarded as the founder of modern philosophy. He also founded analytical geometry and contributed greatly to the science of optics. His works include Discours de la méthode (1637), Meditationes de Prima Philosophia (1641), and Principia Philosophiae (1644)

Descartes

1. French mathematician and philosopher who discovered that the position of a point can be determined by coordinates, a discovery that laid the foundation for analytic geometry.

Example Sentences

In the 17th century, René Descartes connected the idea of the self to consciousness when he famously stated, “I think, therefore I am.”

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Let’s give the last word, plus one of mine, to the famous phrase of French philosopher and scientist Rene Descartes: “Cogito ergo sum ridens” — “I think, therefore I am laughing.”

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Aristotle believed that animals and humans share similar emotions while Descartes argued that animals were more like machines, lacking the capacity for emotions or consciousness.

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In 1641, French philosopher René Descartes, writing his famous “Meditations on First Philosophy,” observed that a mind is fundamentally different from the body which contains it.

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An early effort came in the 17th century, by the French philosopher René Descartes who said: "I think therefore I am."

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