Rene Descartes
Rene Descartes
René Descarteswas a French philosopher, mathematician, and scientist. Dubbed the father of modern western philosophy, much of subsequent Western philosophy is a response to his writings, which are studied closely to this day. He spent about 20 years of his life in the Dutch Republic...
ProfessionPhilosopher
Date of Birth31 March 1596
CityIndre-et-Loire, France
illumination light soul
Intuitive knowledge is an illumination of the soul, whereby it beholds in the light of God those things which it pleases Him to reveal to us by a direct impression of divine clearness.
luxury wells
He lives well who is well hidden.
men hands purpose
... regard this body as a machine which, having been made by the hand of God, is incomparably better ordered than any machine that can be devised by man, and contains in itself movements more wonderful than those in any machine. ... it is for all practical purposes impossible for a machine to have enough organs to make it act in all the contingencies of life in the way in which our reason makes us act.
mind statistics enough
For to be possessed of a vigorous mind is not enough; the prime requisite is rightly to apply it.
sunshine diversity experience
Human wisdom remains always one and the same although applied to the most diverse objects and it is no more changed by their diversity than the sunshine is changed by the variety of objects which it illuminates.
dream life-is certain
How can you be certain that your whole life is not a dream?
memories judging perception
This result could have been achieved either by his [God] endowing my intellect with a clear and distinct perception of everything about which I would ever deliberate, or simply by impressing the following rule so firmly upon my memory that I could never forget it: I should never judge anything that I do not clearly and distinctly understand.
inspirational men one-man
Truths are more likely to be discovered by one man than by a nation
passion magic firsts
Wonder is the first of all the passions.
philosophical secure
The only secure knowledge is that I exist.
passion mind body
The principal effect of the passions is that they incite and persuade the mind to will the events for which they prepared the body.
wells
We never understand a thing so well,and make it our own, as when we have discovered it for ourselves.
joy sorrow genuine
Illusory joy is often worth more than genuine sorrow.
desire unseen motto
I desire to live in peace and to continue the life I have begun under the motto 'to live well you must live unseen