Descartes

René Descartes (1596 - 1650), Father of Modern Philosophy

By andyjamal

  • Born

    Born
    René Descartes was born to Joachim and Jeanne Brochard in La Haye en Touraine, France on March 31, 1596.
  • Period: to

    Attends School

    Descartes received his primary education from the Jesuit Collège Royal Henry-Le-Grand at La Flèche.
  • Period: to

    Attends University

    Descartes studied law at the University of Poitiers.

  • Publishes Discours de la methode (Discourse on the Method)

    Publishes Discours de la methode (Discourse on the Method)
    "I think, therefore I am." Descartes penned this most famous of philosophical quotes while engaged in a thought experiment. His aim was to create a firm epistemological foundation on which to build his philosophy. He began by asking himself what can be truly known. He then, through a process of extreme skepticism, discarded all knowledge of the world that could be in any way called into question. He found, at the end of this process, he was left with only his own thoughts.

  • Essais Philosophiques: La Géométrie (Geometry), La Dioptrique (Optics) and Les Météores (Meteorology)

    Essais Philosophiques: La Géométrie (Geometry), La Dioptrique (Optics) and Les Météores (Meteorology)
    These works were published as appendices to Descartes' Discourse on the method. La Géométrie, in particular, is noteworthy, as it establishes the Cartesian system of algebraic geometry. This work allowed for significant advances in mathematics and firmly positioned Descartes as a major player in the history of the subject.

  • Publishes Meditationes de Prima Philosophia (Meditations on First Philosophy)

    Publishes Meditationes de Prima Philosophia (Meditations on First Philosophy)
    Meditations, Descartes' major philosophical work, fully explicates his epistemology, gives arguments for the existence of God, and develops his theory of mind-body dualism (Russell, 515-519). Click here for a brief informative video on the Meditations.

  • Publishes Principia Philosophiae (Principles of Philosophy)

    Publishes Principia Philosophiae (Principles of Philosophy)
    His Principia presents to the world the culmination of much of Descartes' scientific thinking (Russell, 514). He viewed natural processes as being largely mechanistic and, hence, deterministic.

  • Died

    Died
    It is generally accepted that Descartes died of pneumonia. However, there has been some speculation which suggests that Descartes may have been assassinated (Davies).