René Descartes
1596 – 1650
Rene Descartes (1596–1650) is considered the father of modern Western philosophy. Seeking certainty in an age shaken by the Scientific Revolution, he developed a method of radical doubt. His famous 'I think, therefore I am' established the thinking self as the one unshakeable foundation, launching philosophy's modern preoccupation with mind, consciousness, and the relationship between self and world.
Key works: Meditations on First Philosophy · Discourse on the Method · Cogito, ergo sum
Top quotes by René Descartes
“I suppose myself to have been created from nothing by a supremely powerful God; He not deceptive, but capable of deceiving me.”
Read the full explanation →“The mind is by nature capable of understanding all things.”
Read the full explanation →“I have made a ceaseless effort not to diminish from my passion for truth.”
Read the full explanation →“I have never done anything but weep and blaspheme.”
Read the full explanation →“The only thing that truly heals pain is a profound experience of understanding.”
Read the full explanation →“I have never been able to accept any teaching which was not based on clear and certain reasoning.”
Read the full explanation →“I am a thing that thinks: whatever I am, I am a thinking thing.”
Read the full explanation →“The first precept was never to accept anything as true if I did not recognize it to be evidently true.”
Read the full explanation →“I have never been able to recognize any other foundation of the rules of morality.”
Read the full explanation →“Divide each difficulty into as many parts as is feasible and necessary to resolve it.”
Read the full explanation →
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