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Selected Philosophical Writings: Discourse on Method, Meditations on First Philosophy, Selections from the Principles of Philosophy
In one volume, three of the most influential and significant philosophical works of René Descartes. This edition is based on the translations of John Veitch (1829-1894).
René Descartes (1596–1650) was a French philosopher and mathematician best known for his philosophical works, including his famous “I think, therefore I am.” He is often referred to as the “Father of Modern Philosophy” for his innovative ideas and groundbreaking discoveries. Descartes attended Jesuit schools and received a law degree from the University of Poitiers. He then traveled extensively, visiting many countries and studying a variety of subjects. During this time, he developed his philosophical ideas which were based on his method of doubt. This method, which he called Cartesian Dualism, posited that reality consists of two separate realms – physical and mental. He argued that the physical world could be understood through science and mathematics, while the mental world could only be understood through introspection. Descartes also made major contributions to the fields of mathematics and science. His most famous work in mathematics is La Géométrie , which deals with the application of algebra to geometry. He also provided the first comprehensive explanation of the laws of motion in his treatise, La Principia . In addition to his work in mathematics, Descartes was also a pioneer in the field of optics, developing the theory of light refraction. Descartes was a key figure in the Scientific Revolution of the 17th century, and his works had a major influence on the development of modern philosophy. His ideas have been studied and debated by generations of scholars and are still relevant today. Descartes’ philosophy is a cornerstone of the Western intellectual tradition and is essential to a full understanding of modern thought.
René Descartes (1596–1650) was a French philosopher and mathematician best known for his philosophical works, including his famous “I think, therefore I am.” He is often referred to as the “Father of Modern Philosophy” for his innovative ideas and groundbreaking discoveries. Descartes attended Jesuit schools and received a law degree from the University of Poitiers. He then traveled extensively, visiting many countries and studying a variety of subjects. During this time, he developed his philosophical ideas which were based on his method of doubt. This method, which he called Cartesian Dualism, posited that reality consists of two separate realms – physical and mental. He argued that the physical world could be understood through science and mathematics, while the mental world could only be understood through introspection. Descartes also made major contributions to the fields of mathematics and science. His most famous work in mathematics is La Géométrie , which deals with the application of algebra to geometry. He also provided the first comprehensive explanation of the laws of motion in his treatise, La Principia . In addition to his work in mathematics, Descartes was also a pioneer in the field of optics, developing the theory of light refraction. Descartes was a key figure in the Scientific Revolution of the 17th century, and his works had a major influence on the development of modern philosophy. His ideas have been studied and debated by generations of scholars and are still relevant today. Descartes’ philosophy is a cornerstone of the Western intellectual tradition and is essential to a full understanding of modern thought.
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Published August 30, 2020
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René Descartes
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Meditations on First Philosophy
(1641) and
Principles of Philosophy
(1644), main works of French mathematician and scientist René Descartes, considered the father of analytic geometry and the founder of modern rationalism, include the famous dictum "I think, therefore I am."
A set of two perpendicular lines in a plane or three in space intersect at an origin in Cartesian coordinate system. Cartesian coordinate, a member of the set of numbers, distances, locates a point in this system. Cartesian coordinates describe all points of a Cartesian plane.
From given sets, {X} and {Y}, one can construct Cartesian product, a set of all pairs of elements (x, y), such that x belongs to {X} and y belongs to {Y}.
Cartesian philosophers include Antoine Arnauld.
René Descartes, a writer, highly influenced society. People continue to study closely his writings and subsequently responded in the west. He of the key figures in the revolution also apparently influenced the named coordinate system, used in planes and algebra.
Descartes frequently sets his views apart from those of his predecessors. In the opening section of the Passions of the Soul , a treatise on the early version of now commonly called emotions, he goes so far to assert that he writes on his topic "as if no one had written on these matters before." Many elements in late Aristotelianism, the revived Stoicism of the 16th century, or earlier like Saint Augustine of Hippo provide precedents. Naturally, he differs from the schools on two major points: He rejects corporeal substance into matter and form and any appeal to divine or natural ends in explaining natural phenomena. In his theology, he insists on the absolute freedom of act of creation of God.
Baruch Spinoza and Baron Gottfried Wilhelm von Leibniz later advocated Descartes, a major figure in 17th century Continent, and the empiricist school of thought, consisting of Thomas Hobbes, John Locke, George Berkeley, and David Hume, opposed him. Leibniz and Descartes, all well versed like Spinoza, contributed greatly. Descartes, the crucial bridge with algebra, invented the coordinate system and calculus. Reflections of Descartes on mind and mechanism began the strain of western thought; much later, the invention of the electronic computer and the possibility of machine intelligence impelled this thought, which blossomed into the Turing test and related thought. His stated most in §7 of part I and in part IV of Discourse on the Method .
A set of two perpendicular lines in a plane or three in space intersect at an origin in Cartesian coordinate system. Cartesian coordinate, a member of the set of numbers, distances, locates a point in this system. Cartesian coordinates describe all points of a Cartesian plane.
From given sets, {X} and {Y}, one can construct Cartesian product, a set of all pairs of elements (x, y), such that x belongs to {X} and y belongs to {Y}.
Cartesian philosophers include Antoine Arnauld.
René Descartes, a writer, highly influenced society. People continue to study closely his writings and subsequently responded in the west. He of the key figures in the revolution also apparently influenced the named coordinate system, used in planes and algebra.
Descartes frequently sets his views apart from those of his predecessors. In the opening section of the Passions of the Soul , a treatise on the early version of now commonly called emotions, he goes so far to assert that he writes on his topic "as if no one had written on these matters before." Many elements in late Aristotelianism, the revived Stoicism of the 16th century, or earlier like Saint Augustine of Hippo provide precedents. Naturally, he differs from the schools on two major points: He rejects corporeal substance into matter and form and any appeal to divine or natural ends in explaining natural phenomena. In his theology, he insists on the absolute freedom of act of creation of God.
Baruch Spinoza and Baron Gottfried Wilhelm von Leibniz later advocated Descartes, a major figure in 17th century Continent, and the empiricist school of thought, consisting of Thomas Hobbes, John Locke, George Berkeley, and David Hume, opposed him. Leibniz and Descartes, all well versed like Spinoza, contributed greatly. Descartes, the crucial bridge with algebra, invented the coordinate system and calculus. Reflections of Descartes on mind and mechanism began the strain of western thought; much later, the invention of the electronic computer and the possibility of machine intelligence impelled this thought, which blossomed into the Turing test and related thought. His stated most in §7 of part I and in part IV of Discourse on the Method .
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