Rene Descartes

René Descartes (1596–1650) was a French philosopher, mathematician, and natural scientist. He is regarded as one of the founders of modern philosophy and early modern rationalism. His method combined rational doubt, intuition, and deduction, and he is famous for the dictum “Cogito, ergo sum” (“I think, therefore I am”). Descartes also made important contributions to analytic geometry and optics. His major works include the “Discourse on the Method” (1637), the “Meditations on First Philosophy” (1641), and the “Principles of Philosophy” (1644).