René descartes contribution to science

Let’s find out more about René Descartes!

René Descartes was a French mathematician, natural scientist, and philosopher best remembered for coining the phrase ‘Cogito, ergo sum’ (‘I think, therefore I am’).

He wrote in physiology, cosmology, coordinate geometry, and optics, but he is best known as the ‘father of modern philosophy’. Descartes was not a direct Enlightenment participant, but his legacy would be his effect on others who made contributions to the scientific, political and social transformations that took place during this age of reason.

EARLY LIFE AND WORKS

• René Descartes was born on 31 March 1596 in La Haye, France.

  His father served as a landowner and councillor in the Brittany Parliament. Descartes began his education with the Jesuits at the College de La Flèche in the French province of Anjou when he was ten years old. Henry IV of France founded this institution, which is regarded as one of the finest in all of Europe