Descartes

American  

[day-kahrt, day-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

See Examples For:

Descartes

Maresca has been reading French philosopher Rene Descartes and, fittingly, the book Football and Chess by Adam Wells, while on his family holidays.

From BBC ● Jun. 29, 2026

René Descartes sometimes felt the need to close his eyes to think.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Apr. 12, 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

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.

From Science Daily ● Nov. 14, 2024

According to Descartes, in the case of gravity this pushing process was the result of the Earth being caught up in a vast vortex of fluid swirling round the sun.

From "The Invention of Science" by David Wootton

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