Cartesian

[kahr-tee-zhuhn]

adjective

1. of or relating to Descartes, his mathematical methods, or his philosophy, especially with regard to its emphasis on logical analysis and its mechanistic interpretation of physical nature.

noun

1. a follower of Cartesian thought.

Cartesian

/ kɑːˈtiːzɪən, -ʒjən /

adjective

1. of or relating to the works of René Descartes

2. of, relating to, or used in Descartes' mathematical system

   Cartesian coordinates

3. of, relating to, or derived from Descartes' philosophy, esp his contentions that personal identity consists in the continued existence of a unique mind and that the mind and body are connected causally See also dualism

noun

1. a follower of the teachings and methods of Descartes

Other Word Forms

• Cartesianism noun
• post-Cartesian adjective

Word History and Origins

Origin of Cartesian¹

1650–60; < New Latin Cartesiānus, equivalent to Cartesi ( us ) (Latinization of Descartes ) + -ānus -an

Example Sentences

A sense of French Cartesian order thrums through the house.

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“I’m very Cartesian. I like to break down a recipe and show how it is done,” he says.

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Like Pythagoras, Descartes was a mathematician-philosopher; perhaps his most lasting legacy was a mathematical invention—what we now call Cartesian coordinates.

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I didn’t want to live in a place submitting to the Cartesian anxiety that the mind and the body are disconnected.

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Today, within society and the sciences, these Cartesian views are rarely tolerated.

Read more on Scientific American