Descartes
"Therefore I am"
René Descartes was a seventeenth-century French philosopher and mathematician, often called the father of modern Western philosophy.
He is best known for the statement Cogito, ergo sum ("I think, therefore I am"), which he proposed as the one certainty that survives radical doubt.
Descartes made foundational contributions to mathematics, including the Cartesian coordinate system that bears his name, which links algebra and geometry.
In casual usage, invoking Descartes often signals philosophical questioning about reality, consciousness, or the nature of existence.
Insight preceding experience
Thought confirms being
- indubitableImpossible to doubt
- foundationalismKnowledge rests on basics
- evil demonMalevolent supernatural being
- certaintyTotal absence of doubt
Relation of mental to physical
- pineal glandMelatonin-secreting brain structure
- interactionismTheory of mutual social influence
- consciousnessState of sentient awareness
- soulInnermost animating essence
Dutch philosopher of monism
- LeibnizBaroque-era polymath philosopher-mathematician
- EnlightenmentEra prioritizing reason over dogma
- scientific revolutionTransformative change in understanding
Light composed of particles
- laws of motionPrinciples governing physical dynamics
- plenumComplete legislative body
- extensionAdded part or duration
- automataSelf-moving mechanical devices
Two-axis graphing system
- x-axisGraph's horizontal reference line
- y-axisGraph's vertical reference
- conic sectionsCurves from plane-cone intersections
- tangent linesLines meeting curves once
a priori knowledge
Insight preceding experience
cogito ergo sum
Thought confirms being
- indubitableImpossible to doubt
- foundationalismKnowledge rests on basics
- evil demonMalevolent supernatural being
mind-body problem
Relation of mental to physical
- pineal glandMelatonin-secreting brain structure
- interactionismTheory of mutual social influence
- consciousnessState of sentient awareness
soul · matter · animal spirits
Spinoza
Dutch philosopher of monism
- LeibnizBaroque-era polymath philosopher-mathematician
- EnlightenmentEra prioritizing reason over dogma
- scientific revolutionTransformative change in understanding
corpuscular theory
Light composed of particles
- laws of motionPrinciples governing physical dynamics
- plenumComplete legislative body
- extensionAdded part or duration
automata · refraction · optics
coordinate plane
Two-axis graphing system
- x-axisGraph's horizontal reference line
- y-axisGraph's vertical reference
- conic sectionsCurves from plane-cone intersections
- MathematiciansEuclid, Gauss, Euler, Archimedes, Pythagoras
- 17th Century ThinkersSpinoza, Leibniz, John Locke, Locke, Thomas Hobbes
- Baroque Era FiguresSpinoza, Leibniz, Locke, Hobbes, Newton
- enlightenmentVoltaire, Rousseau, Locke, Kant, Montesquieu
- French ScholarsMarie Curie, Pierre Curie, Louis Pasteur, Blaise Pascal, Claude Bernard
- French ThinkersSartre, Foucault, Voltaire, Rousseau, Montesquieu
DescartesJohn Locke
English empiricist philosopher
David Hume · empiricism · George Berkeley · Francis Bacon · empiricist
Descartesmaterialism
Prioritizing goods over spirit
physicalism · Thomas Hobbes · Spinoza · monism · B.F. Skinner
Descartespragmatism
Practical problem-solving philosophy
William James · Kierkegaard · existentialism · Wittgenstein · Nietzsche