René Descartes was a French philosopher, mathematician and scientist, creator of analytic geometry. He lived much of his life in the Netherlands and died in Stockholm, at the invitation of Queen Christina. He decided to doubt everything in order to find a secure foundation for knowledge, and is therefore considered the father of modern philosophy.
Core ideas
We should doubt everything that can be doubted to find something certain
I think, therefore I am: the existence of thought is the first certainty
Mind and body are distinct substances, one thinking and the other extended
The tradition: Rationalist
A rationalist believes that reason, not the senses, is the main source of secure knowledge. Descartes inaugurates modern rationalism with his method.
