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
Rene Descartes quotes about
desire
Desire awakens only to things that are thought possible.
long heaven mind
Be that as it may, there is fixed in my mind a certain opinion of long [21] standing, namely that there exists a God who is able to do anything and by whom I, such as I am, have been created. How do I know that he did not bring it about that there is no earth at all, no heavens, no extended thing, no shape, no size, no place, and yet bringing it about that all these things appear to me to exist precisely as they do now?
philosophy thinking may
I have concluded the evident existence of God, and that my existence depends entirely on God in all the moments of my life, that I do not think that the human spirit may know anything with greater evidence and certitude.
philosophical
Omnia apud me mathematica fiunt.
challenges looks reputation
Few look for truth; many prowl about for a reputation of profundity by arrogantly challenging whichever arguments are the best.
opinion all-things
But in my opinion, all things in nature occur mathematically.
ontology limits logic
We call infinite that thing whose limits we have not perceived, and so by that word we do not signify what we understand about a thing, but rather what we do not understand.
knowing-who-you-are doubted who-you-are
All is to be doubted.
passion soul training
Even those who have the weakest souls could acquire absolute mastery over all their passions if we employed sufficient ingenuity in training and guiding them.
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 lord masters
And thereby make ourselves, as it were, the lords and masters of nature.
science might able
I should consider that I know nothing about physics if I were able to explain only how things might be, and were unable to demonstrate that they could not be otherwise.
aries
Nothing comes out of nothing.
peaceful solitude mind
Now therefore, that my mind is free from all cares, and that I have obtained for myself assured leisure in peaceful solitude, I shall apply myself seriously and freely to the general destruction of all my former opinions.