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
body awareness certain
...it is certain that I am really distinct from my body, and can exist without it.
dream perfect body
Hence reason also demands that, since our thoughts cannot all be true because we are not wholly perfect, what truth they do possess must inevitably be found in the thoughts we have when awake, rather than in our dreams.
science body matter
The nature of matter, or body considered in general, consists not in its being something which is hard or heavy or coloured, or which affects the senses in any way, but simply in its being something which is extended in length, breadth and depth.
differences mind body
There is a great difference between mind and body insomuch as body is by nature always divisible, and the mind is entirely indivisible.
body reason attributes
It is to the body alone that we should attribute everything that can be observed in us to oppose our reason.
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.
doubt philosophy therefore
Dubito ergo cogito; cogito ergo sum.(I doubt, therefore I think; I think therefore I am)
best common habit hardest matters satisfy thinks
Common sense is the best distributed thing in the world, for everyone thinks he is so well-endowed with it that even those who are hardest to satisfy in all other matters are not in the habit of desiring more of it than they already have
determine follow ought power probable
When it is not in our power to determine what it true, we ought to follow what is most probable
desire fairly good hardest respect satisfy thinks
Of all things, good sense is the most fairly distributed: everyone thinks he is so well supplied with it that even those who are the hardest to satisfy in every other respect never desire more of it than they already have.
strange
There is nothing so strange or so unbelievable that it has not been said by one philosopher or another
books books-and-reading conversation finest good men past reading
The reading of all good books is like conversation with the finest men of past centuries.
desire difficult equally everybody good matters please senses thinks
Good sense is of all things in the world the most equally distributed, for everybody thinks he is so well supplied with it, that even those most difficult to please in all other matters never desire more of it than they already possess.
among desire difficult equally good himself larger provided satisfy thinks
Good sense is, of all things among men, the most equally distributed; for everyone thinks himself so abundantly provided with it, that those even that those who are the most difficult to satisfy in everything else, do not usually desire a larger meas