Descartes' Discord on Method
Descartes' Discord on Method
The Geometry of Rene Descartes
René Descartes was most known for his contributions as a french philosopher and in renaissance writing, however he also contributed to the fields of mathematics as well as science which often go unknown. Descartes is most famous for his quote of "I think, therefore I am" and one of his most noted works called Discourse on The Method. Discourse on Method was originally written in French and was Descartes' attempt to explain his method of reasoning hence the whole title of "Discourse on Method of Rightly Conducting One's Reason and of Seeking Truth in the Sciences".
Jesuit College La Flèche
René Descartes was born on March 31st, 1596 in what is now named Descartes, France previously La Hay en Touraine, France. Descartes relatives and father were lawyers and they wanted Descartes to follow into their footsteps. In 1606-1615 Descartes studies at Jesuit College of La Flèche where he took many courses such as multiple years of grammar school in latin and greek, social studies, classical poets, and 3 years in math and philosophy. The philosophy curriculum at Jesuit followed the greek philosopher Aristotle and included topics such as logic, metaphysics, morals, etc. He somewhat follows in his family's footsteps when in 1616, Rene attends Poitiers to study law and get a degree but does not go on to practice law. He then ends up becoming a gentleman soldier 2 years later and moved to the Netherlands. Although Discourse on Method was one of his most famous works, other include: Meditations on First Philosophy, The Principles, and The Passions.