French philosopher and mathematician (1596 to 1650), traditionally regarded as the founder of modern rationalism and of modern philosophy generally. His Meditations on First Philosophy (1641) establishes the method of systematic doubt culminating in the cogito, I think therefore I am, as the one indubitable foundation for knowledge, a rationalist methodology later extended and revised by Baruch Spinoza and Gottfried Leibniz.
Facts
Notable PublicationMeditations on First Philosophy (1641) 1 Office HeldCourt philosopher and tutor to Queen Christina of Sweden 1 Arrived in Stockholm in October 1649; lessons began in December 1649 at 5am and were cut short by Descartes' death from pneumonia on 11 February 1650. TraditionFounder of Continental Rationalism 1 Connections
Associated With
Source Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy
The Meditations' search for an indubitable foundation is the paradigm early-modern foundationalist project.
Source The Epistemic Regress Problem (Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy)
Descartes' mechanistic view that an organism is nothing but a machine is a historical touchstone philosophy of biology still argues with.
Source The Autonomy of Biology (Mayr, Ludus Vitalis 2004)
Source Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy
Descartes' Fifth Meditation gives an independent formulation built on existence as a perfection.
Source Ontological Arguments (Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy)
Critiqued Here
Leibniz rejected Descartes claim that matter is nothing but extension, arguing that extension alone cannot explain the activity and unity bodies display, which requires immaterial, force-bearing monads underneath the phenomena.
Source Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy
In Branch
Source Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy
Source Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy
Source Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy
Influenced
Spinoza built his rationalist metaphysics in sustained critical dialogue with Descartes' dualism and method of doubt; this closes the gap of Spinoza carrying no founding figure on record for rationalism.
Source Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy
Traditions Founded
Source Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy
Works Attributed
Source Discourse on the Method (Wikipedia)
Source Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy
In the Other Atlases
Sources
1. Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy
Stanford University, Center for the Study of Language and Informationentry: Rene Descartes
During the course of his life, he was a mathematician first, a natural scientist or “natural philosopher” second, and a metaphysician third.
entry: Rene Descartes, Life
Descartes was born on 31 March 1596 in his maternal grandmother’s house in La Haye, in the Touraine region of France.
- In Category: Philosophers
- In Branch: Metaphysics
- In Branch: Epistemology
- In Branch: Philosophy of Mind, s.v. Dualism
- Traditions Founded: Rationalism, s.v. Rationalism vs. Empiricism
- Associated With: Gottfried Wilhelm Leibniz
- Associated With: Epistemology, entry: Epistemology
- Associated With: Philosophy of Mind, entry: Dualism
View the Source The Autonomy of Biology (Mayr, Ludus Vitalis 2004)
Associated With: Philosophy of Biology, p. 16, VitalismQuote, Associated With: Philosophy of Biology, p. 16, Vitalism
An organism is really nothing but a machine, he said
Discourse on the Method (Wikipedia)
WikipediaWorks Attributed: Discourse on the Method, IntroductionQuote, Works Attributed: Discourse on the Method, Introduction
It is best known as the source of the famous quotation "Je pense, donc je suis" ("I think, therefore I am").
Ontological Arguments (Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy)
Associated With: The Ontological Argument
The Epistemic Regress Problem (Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy)
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