author
René Descartes
1596–1650
Best known for the line "I think, therefore I am," this French philosopher and mathematician helped reshape how people think about knowledge, doubt, and the natural world. His work linked philosophy with science in a way that still feels strikingly modern.
8 Audiobooks
Discourse on the Method of Rightly Conducting One's Reason and of Seeking Truth in the Sciences
by René Descartes
Discours de la méthode
by René Descartes
Six metaphysical meditations Wherein it is proved that there is a God and that mans mind is really distinct from his body
by René Descartes
Meditationes de prima philosophia
by René Descartes
Selections from the Principles of Philosophy
by René Descartes
Metodin esitys Mielenliikutuksien tutkistelu. Metafyysillisiä mietelmiä.
by René Descartes
A Discourse of a Method for the Well Guiding of Reason and the Discovery of Truth in the Sciences
by René Descartes
Betrachtungen über die Grundlagen der Philosophie
by René Descartes
About the author
Born in France in 1596, René Descartes became one of the most influential thinkers of the early modern period. He is widely remembered as a philosopher, mathematician, and scientist, and is often described as a founding figure in modern Western philosophy.
Descartes is especially famous for his method of radical doubt and for the statement usually rendered in English as "I think, therefore I am." In works such as Discourse on the Method, Meditations on First Philosophy, and Principles of Philosophy, he tried to build knowledge on clear and certain foundations. His ideas about mind and body, reason, and the search for certainty shaped centuries of debate.
He also made lasting contributions to mathematics, especially through the development of analytic geometry, which helped connect algebra and geometry. After spending many productive years in the Dutch Republic, he died in Stockholm in 1650, but his writing continued to influence philosophy, science, and mathematics long after his lifetime.