René Descartes
René Descartes
Portrait after Frans Hals[note 1]
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a French philosopher, mathematician, scientist and lay Catholic who invented analytic geometry
Born
31 March 1596 La Haye en Touraine, Touraine, Kingdom of France
Died
11 February 1650 (aged 53) Stockholm, Swedish Empire
Nationality
French
adultbasic
Netherlands
Education
Collège Royal Henry-Le-Grand (1607–1614) University of Poitiers (LL.B., 1616) University of Franeker (no degree) Leiden University (no degree)
era
1600-1800
Era
17th-century philosophy Age of Enlightenment
Main interests
Epistemology, metaphysics, mathematics, physics, cosmology
Notable ideas
List Cogito ergo sum Method of doubt Subjectivity Method of normals Analytic geometry Cartesian coordinate system Mind–body problem Cartesian dualism interactionism trialism Cartesian circle Foundationalism
Region
Western philosophy Dutch philosophy French philosophy
School
Rationalism Cartesianism Mechanism Innatism : 257 Foundationalism Conceptualism : 43 Augustinianism Indirect realism : 136 Correspondence theory of truth Corpuscularianism Theological voluntarism
Thesis
Untitled LL.B. thesis (1616)