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Birth of René Descartes
René du Perron Descartes was born in La Haye en Touraine (now Descartes, Indre-et-Loire), France, on 31 March 1596. -
Compendiem Musicae
Descartes joins the Protestant Dutch States Army in Breda, Netherlands. Here he meets Isaac Beeckman who encourages Descartes to refine his analytical thoughts. Descartes writes Compendiem Musicae, on musical theory and aesthetics for Beeckman, and together they work on several mathematical and physics concepts, interested in creating a method of thoroughly linking the two subjects. Citation:
Descartes, René. Compendiem Musicae. Utrecht, Trajectum ad Rhenum, 1650 -
Awakening
Though the image is Rodin's "Thinking Man," the statue is associated with the phrase "Cogito Ergo Sum," which translates to "I think, therefore I am."
In 1619 Descartes had 3 dreams, and believed a divine spirit revealed to him a new philosophy. From this, he formulates analytical geometry and established the Cartesian Coordinate System. He concluded that the pursuit of science is the pursuit of true wisdom, and realizes that "Je pense, donc je suis," (French translation for Cogito Ergo Sum). -
Regulae ad directionem ingenii
Descartes begins writing an unfinished treatise on Rules for the Direction of the Mind. These rules are the basis for his methodology when conducting scientific research. While unfinished and not published during his life, he used these rules as the basis for later writings. Citation:
Descartes, René. Regulae ad directionem ingenii. Paris, Librairie Philosophique J. Vrin, 1930 -
Le monde and L'homme
These are writings on the nature and order of things, as Descartes believes in mechanical philosophy. His views propose that nature is structured by order, and that there must be laws governing how and why things are. He delays some of his writings since at the time Galileo was being persecuted for opposing main stream concepts. Citation:
Descartes, René. Le monde; L'homme. Paris, Éd. du Seuil, 1996 -
Discours de la méthode
One of Descartes most influential works, he created the basis for skepticism. His views were to treat every situation as though it had never happened before, so that he could approach it as objectively as possible. In the writings he says "never to accept anything for true which I did not clearly know to be such." Citation:
Descartes, René. Discours de la méthode. Paris, Librairie Philosophique J. Vrin, 1946. -
Death of his daughter Francine Descartes
The death of his daughter, Francine, had a huge impact on his perceptions of the world. He grieved deeply for the loss of Francine, and it was noted that he said he did not believe that one must refrain from tears to prove oneself a man.
His works from this point on clearly turn to a quest for universal answers and he delves deeper into philosophy and the metaphysical. -
Meditationes de prima philosphia
Descartes writes down his meditations on his thoughts of existence. In his 6 meditations he discards all belief in things that are not absolutely certain, and then tries to establish what can be known for sure. These meditations form into rules from which the physical and metaphysical should be observed. This book still has a massive impact on the study of philosophy today. Citation:
Descartes, René. Meditationes de prima philosphia. Amstelodami,Apud Ludovicum Elzevirium, [1654]-[1656] -
Principia philosophiae
This formal writing lays out the principles of nature which are the laws of physics to Descartes. Of great import, Descartes provides the description of external forces, and that in the absence of external forces, an object's motion will be uniform and in a straight line. This is the foundation for Sir Isaac Newton and his laws of motion. This is still the ground work for modern physics. Citation:
Descartes, René. Principia philosophiae. Amstelodamum, 1692 -
Final Days
Arrived in Sweden on 4 October 1649 at the behest of Queen Christina of Sweden. He was to meet with her to organize a new scientific academy and tutor her in his ideas about love. Due to the nature of her schedule, Descartes had to meet her at 5 AM, a time of day which worsened the temperature of an already cold and drafty castle. Descartes later died on 11 February 1650. Cause of death: pneumonia.
