Descartes

[ dey-kahrt; French dey-kart ]

/ deɪˈkɑrt; French deɪˈkart /

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Definition of Descartes

noun

Re·né

[ruh-ney; French ruh-ney], /rəˈneɪ; French rəˈneɪ/, 1596–1650, French philosopher and mathematician.

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Words nearby Descartes

desaturation, desc., descale, descamisado, descant, Descartes, Descartes' law, Descartes, René, descend, descendant, descendent

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

How to use Descartes in a sentence

What Descartes meant is the only thing I’m absolutely sure of is my own consciousness.
The Spiritual Consciousness of Christof Koch - Issue 107: The Edge|Steve Paulson|October 13, 2021|Nautilus
We are not the beast machines of Descartes, for whom life was irrelevant to mind.
We Are Beast Machines - Issue 107: The Edge|Anil Seth|October 13, 2021|Nautilus
Newton used a variety of empirical data, from the satellites of Jupiter and the regular motion of planets and comets through space, to refute Descartes’ theories.
We Have to Talk About Doubt - Issue 104: Harmony|David Krakauer|September 1, 2021|Nautilus
This idea of so-called “impact motion” through “corporeal vortices” was challenged by some of Descartes’ near contemporaries, most notably Isaac Newton.
We Have to Talk About Doubt - Issue 104: Harmony|David Krakauer|September 1, 2021|Nautilus

Descartes approached his problem by pointing out that the longevity of ancient philosophical doctrines, and their evident lack of consensus, is based on the absence of precise thinking.
We Have to Talk About Doubt - Issue 104: Harmony|David Krakauer|September 1, 2021|Nautilus
She gives no nods to the Humanists, like Montaigne, Francis Bacon, Erasmus, or Descartes.
Sor Juana: Mexico’s Most Erotic Poet and Its Most Dangerous Nun|Katie Baker|November 8, 2014|DAILY BEAST
A city at its best, wrote the philosopher René Descartes, provides “an inventory of the possible.”
Hot U.S. Cities That Offer Both Jobs and Culture Are Mostly Southern and Modest Sized|Joel Kotkin, Wendell Cox|July 30, 2013|DAILY BEAST
Somewhere, Descartes must be mulling a new declaration for the modern era: I emit carbon dioxide, therefore I am.
Obama's Environmental Disaster|Robert Bryce|April 19, 2009|DAILY BEAST
He was the friend of Descartes, and a philosopher; distinguished for his eloquence and as an author.
The Every Day Book of History and Chronology|Joel Munsell
The prime fact in philosophy was to him, as to Augustine and Descartes, the certainty of individual consciousness.
Encyclopaedia Britannica, 11th Edition, Volume 5, Slice 2|Various
The following is an argument of Descartes to prove, in his priori manner, the being of a God.
A System of Logic: Ratiocinative and Inductive|John Stuart Mill
Fénélon could not have persuaded him; but Descartes might have influenced him.
My Recollections of Lord Byron|Teresa Guiccioli
He did not make a system, like Descartes or Spinoza or Newton: he showed the way to make it on sound principles.
Beacon Lights of History, Volume VI|John Lord

British Dictionary definitions for Descartes

Descartes

/ (ˈdeɪˌkɑːt, French dekart) /

noun

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)

Other words from Descartes

Related adjective: Cartesian

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Scientific definitions for Descartes

Descartes

[ dā-kärt′ ]

René 1596-1650

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.