Descartes, Rene (1596-1650)

Rene Descartes was a French philosopher, mathematician and natural scientist who invented analytical Geometry and
was the first philosopher to describe the Universe as he saw it in term of mind and matter. He worked out laws of motion.
Descartes rejected the idea that everything we observe is false or a dream by saying that, because we have thoughts, we exist
His Latin Motto, 'cogito,ergo sum' (i thing, there fore i am), is famous. It means that because we have thoughts, we exist.
Descartes' approach to science was to question everything. He worked out thing for himself from the beginning.
Born at La Haye, in France, Descartes was brought up as a Jesuit, travelled widely, and fought in several wars.
From 1628 to 1649 he lived in the Netherlands. He died on a visit to Sweden in 1650.


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