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
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
achieving difficult easy enter gave human imagine matters mind occasion reasoning simple
The long concatenations of simple and easy reasoning which geometricians use in achieving their most difficult demonstrations gave me occasion to imagine that all matters which may enter the human mind were interrelated in the same fashion.
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.
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.
situations-in-life worthwhile-things judging
Situations in life often permit no delay; and when we cannot determine the course which is certainly best, we must follow the one which is probably the best. This frame of mind freed me also from the repentance and remorse commonly felt by those vacillating individuals who are always seeking as worthwhile things which they later judge to be bad.
encouragement philosophical simplicity
Divide each difficulty into as many parts as is feasible and necessary to resolve it.
philosophical
De omnibus dubitandum
knowledge knows
I know that I exist; the question is, What is this 'I' that 'I' know.
success witty humorous
Each problem that I solved became a rule, which served afterwards to solve other problems.
lasts opinion reservations
At last I will devote myself sincerely and without reservation to the general demolition of my opinions.
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.
passion magic firsts
Wonder is the first of all the passions.
judgement may judgment
If ... it is not in my power to arrive at the knowledge of any truth, I may at least do what is in my power, namely, suspend judgement ...
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.