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

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.”

From Los Angeles Times • Mar. 1, 2025

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.

From Salon • Nov. 10, 2024

"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

So in 1649, when Queen Christina of Sweden invited him to join the circle of intellectuals that she was gathering in Stockholm, Descartes leaped at the chance.

From "The Scientists" by John Gribbin