Rene Descartes

While the great philosophical distinction between mind and body in western thought can be traced to the Greeks, it is to the seminal work of René Descartes (1596-1650), French mathematician, philosopher, and physiologist, that we owe the first systematic account of the mind/body relationship (Wozniak). As a key figure in the Scientific Revolution, Rene Descartes was one of the most intelligent men in his era. With his numerous writings and works, he allowed us to understand modern philosophy, the human body and the mind, and even physics. He was a famous mathematician, philosopher, and scientist who made many contributions to society that we still see today. René Descartes is often credited with being the “Father of Modern Philosophy.” He was given this title due to both his break with the traditional Scholastic-Aristotelian philosophy prevalent at his time and to his development and promotion of the new, mechanistic sciences. He is also famous for having promoted a new conception of matter, which allowed for the accounting of physical phenomena by way of mechanical explanations (Wozniak). Most of the contributions were in the category of philosophy and reasoning, but a lot of the important ones had to deal with math and science. Out of all the contributions Rene Descartes has made, the idea of analytic geometry is one of his most famous works and contributions to today’s mathematical world. Descartes was born on March 31, 1596 in the town of La Haye, which was renamed Descartes, in France. He was the son of an intellectual and Councilor in the French Parliament named Joachim Descartes and his wife Jeanne Brochard who died when Rene was born (Rene Descartes).Descartes was one five surviving children of his parents but was raised by his grandmother and a nurse. He was determined to make a good learning environment for his son, which obviously paid off. Rene Descartes was always eager to learn. At the age of 8, he attended the Jesuit college of Henry VI in La

Cited: Boyer, Carl B., 1985, A History of Mathematics, Princeton: Princeton University Press. Courant, R. and Robbins, H. "Remarks on Analytic Geometry." §2.3 in What Is Mathematics?: An Elementary Approach to Ideas and Methods, 2nd ed. Oxford, England: Oxford University Press, pp. 72-77, 1996. Descartes, Rene Descartes, René, and Joseph McCabe. Discourse on the Method of Rightly Conducting the Reason and Seeking Truth in the Sciences. Girard, Kan.: Haldeman-Julius Pub., 1941. Print. Rene Descartes. Web. 17 Mar. 2011. <http://renedescartes.com/>. "Rene Descartes (1595- 1650)." Http://oregonstate.edu. Web. 17 Mar. 2011. Rudolph, Martin. "Analytic Geometry." EZ-101 Calculus. Hauppauge: Barron 's Educations Series, 2002. 23. Print. Smith, Kurt. "Descartes ' Life and Works." The Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy. Web. 17 Mar. 2011. SparkNotes Editors. “SparkNote on Discourse on Method.” SparkNotes.com. SparkNotes LLC. n.d.. Web. 15 Mar. 2011. Web. SparkNotes Editors. “SparkNote on Meditations on First Philosophy.” SparkNotes.com. SparkNotes LLC. n.d.. Web. 15 Mar. 2011 SparkNotes Editors Wozniak, Robert H. "Rene Descartes and the Legacy of Mind/Body Dualism." Serendip. Bryn Mawr College, 2 Dec. 20023. Web. 17 Mar. 2011.