Rene Descartes

A detailed Summary of Rene Descartes


Over the course of history there have been many great philosophers with different views on reality. Rene Descartes, a renound philosopher of his time, was born near Tours on March 31, 1596, and died at Stockholm on February 11, 1650.Descartes made many contributions to philosophy, although there are some controversies over his beliefs. This paper will give a general overview of the theories discussed by Descartes and the debates that one might find with his theories.

Rene Descartes, a French mathematician and philosopher, was one of the first to tussle with the insinuated scientific world view. Descartes attended the Jesuit college of La Fleche in Anjou at the age of eight years old, and continued to study there for eight years. He also went on to earn his law degree from Paris and study mathematics and mechanics under Isaac Beeckman, a Dutch scientist.

Descartes was a rationalist, in that he believed that knowledge was attained through reason and innate or intrinsic ideas. He was also a devoted Catholic living in a rapidly growing scientific world. Consequently, Descartes was determined to prove that God exists


"I am certain of whatever I clearly and distinctly perceive only because I am certain that God."

in this scientifically modernizing world. In trying to show this and a number of other beliefs and theories Descartes began to question reality.

One of Descartes' major accomplishments was the "Meditations of First Philosophy", published in 1641. There were six meditations. In these Descartes ponders the 'method of doubt', the existence of one self, the difference between mind and body, truth and error, the existence of material things, and proving that God exists. In the Meditations, Descartes starts out by doubting all. He first questions whether the material things, sound colors, etc are real or if some other evil source is tricking us into believing that they are real. Next he goes on to inquire about his own existence. Descartes proves that he exists because he is inseparable from his thoughts therefore he must exist. Thus the famous 'Cogito Ergo Sum', meaning, I think therefore I am. After proving that he exists Descartes went on to prove that God existed. Only there remains the question of how to prove tha

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