Who is Rene Descartes?

René Descartes was an integral contributor to science, philosophy, and mathematics. Born in France in March 1596, Descartes breakthrough discoveries continue to evolve and influence modern science. Descartes has been dubbed the "Father of Modern Philosophy", and a response to his detailed writings can be found in much of Western philosophy. Most notably, Descartes' Meditations on First Philosophy continues to be a staple curriculum text in most university philosophy departments.

Descartes is perhaps best known for the phrase: "I think, therefore I am." Descartes was a key player during the separating schools of thought between empiricism and rationalism. Descartes keenly disjointed reason from the physical senses, and being distrustful of sensory inputs, Descartes declared that only through clear and distinct ideas could we as human beings have knowledge with any sort of validation. However, this logically brings to question of how Descartes defines "ideas." To Descartes, ideas were not based on sensory knowledge, but were products of the mind--and the mind alone . Essentially, these ideas could be brought to consciousness and developed into knowledge without the aid of experience or sensory inputs. This is just one example of the many principles that were introduced by Descartes into modern schools of thought.

Furthermore, Descartes theories on Dualism , interactions between the mind and body and the inherent symbiotic relationship between the two developed his theory of the pineal gland of the brain being "the seat of the soul." Descartes' thoughts on these subjects set a philosophical template for "natural sciences" while they were in their infancy.

Descartes' studies and influence in mathematics are equally relevant. For example, the Cartesian coordinate system—allowing algebraic equations to be expressed as geometric shapes, essentially a 2D coordinate system—was named after him. Descartes is credited as the founder of analytical geometry, the nexus between algebra and geometry. Descartes studies in algebra and geometry which were crucial to the discovery of infinitesimal calculus and analysis.

Rene Descartes, a philanthropist and scholar for the ages, has progressively furthered the philosophical framework of the human race. After all, isn't progress a driving force in all our endeavors? For example, you've progressively read this article thus far with the hopes of reaching it's conclusion (and possibly learn something, I would hope.) All things considered, it seems doubtful that modern schools of thought and Western Philosophy would be nearly as developed and intricate without Rene Descartes' extensive contributions to mathematics and philosophy.