René Descartes is often called the father of modern philosophy for his break with the Scholastic tradition that had previously dominated Western thought. Unlike the Scholastic philosophers, who respected the authority of Aristotle, Descartes believed that he could attain the greatest possible degree of certitude in both his philosophic and scientific investigations by relying on reason. Descartes's emphasis on objectivity and reason became fundamental to the methodology of later philosophers and scientists. In the field of mathematics, Descartes's most important contribution was his discovery of the principles that ultimately developed into the field of analytic geometry.
Descartes was born in the town of La Haye (now La Haye-Descartes), France. He received his early education at a Jesuit school, where he displayed a precocious facility in mathematics, and studied law at the University of Poitiers, from which he graduated in 1616. Two years later he went to the Netherlands and joined the army of Maurice of Nassau. This venture, like his subsequent service in Bavarian and Hungarian armies, was undertaken by Descartes because it afforded him the opportunity to travel, observe, and experience what he described as "the book of the world." During this active period in Descartes's life he formed a friendship with the Dutch philosopher and scientist Isaac Beeckman, who familiarized Descartes with contemporary developments in mathematics.
In 1628, Descartes settled in the Netherlands, where he lived most of his remaining years. It was during this time that he wrote almost all of his philosophical and mathematical treatises. His most influential work, Discours de la m, (Discourse on Method) originally appeared as the preface of a 1637 volume devoted to mathematics and physical science. The Discourse and accompanying studies reflect Descartes's principal ambition as a thinker: to compose a method for analyzing and explaining all phenomena of the physical world.
Descartes's concern with attaining a comprehensive knowledge of the workings of the universe involved an investigation into the nature of knowledge itself. In the Discourse he initially doubts that anything can be known to exist. Ultimately he concludes that he can be certain of the existence of his own doubt, and from this primal certainty infers the existence of a thinking being who is the source of this doubt. Declaring "Cogito, ergo sum" ("I think, therefore I am"), Descartes believed he had found an indubitable fact that could serve as the basis for further knowledge.
A devout Catholic, Descartes maintained that religious truth cannot be attained through scientific reasoning. Descartes made a radical distinction between mind and matter, viewing the latter, whether organic or inorganic, as strictly mechanical in its nature and functions. Accordingly, he regarded the human body as subject only to physical laws that had no connection with an individuals mental or spiritual life. This disjunction between the material and nonmaterial realms is often referred to as Cartesian dualism. Descartes nevertheless believed that God enables human beings to exert mental control over their bodies. Descartes's name is also used in the branch of mathematics known as analytic geometry, which employs Cartesian coordinates to plot the location of objects on a two-dimensional plane or in a three-dimensional space.
In September 1649, Descartes accepted the invitation of Queen Christina of Sweden to join her court and act as her instructor in philosophy. The following winter he contracted pneumonia. He died on February 11, 1650.
This is the complete article, containing 550 words
(approx. 2 pages at 300 words per page).
