Descartes

American  

[dey-kahrt, dey-kart] / deɪˈkɑrt, deɪˈkart /

noun

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

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Descartes British  

/ 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)

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Descartes Scientific  

/ dā-kärt′ /

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.

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Example Sentences

Mr. Pollan blames Western science, and especially Galileo and Descartes, for dividing the mind from the body, and humans from everything else.

From The Wall Street Journal • Mar. 15, 2026

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

From Salon • May 26, 2025

"This unholy trinity, of language, intelligence and consciousness goes back all the way to Descartes," he told BBC News, with a degree of annoyance at the lack of questioning of this approach until recently.

From BBC • Jun. 15, 2024

When the seventeenth-century French philosopher René Descartes was asked about infant consciousness by his critics, he eventually suggested that infants might have thoughts, albeit ones that are simpler than those of adults.

From Science Daily • Mar. 22, 2024

Descartes quickly realized how powerful his coordinate system was.

From "Zero: The Biography of a Dangerous Idea" by Charles Seife