René Descartes

René Descartes (31 Mairch 1596 – 11 Februar 1650) wis a kenspeckle French philosopher mathematician, writer. He wrote beuks that are gey important in maths, pheesics, an especially filosofie. His thocht on dualism soudered sowel, mynd, bouk, an elements intae a dualistic idea o mynd an maiter.

René Descartes. Portrait bi Frans Hals, 1648.

Descartes and pheesics (the study o the warld)

In his Screed on Method (1637), Descartes clarkit aboot the scienteefic method anent scienteefic approach, thinkin, a method that he hae clecked. He an aa wrate anen shapes (Geometry), licht (Dioptrics), an the wather (Meteorology). He syne shapit a wey o descriving shapes bi notin coordinates, an forby a theory o what a wattergaw is. Descartes' feesics wis important for a later kenspeckle thinker, Sir Isaac Newton, that said anent him, sae daed James Hook: "Gif A'v seen faurer it is acause A wis stuiden on the shouders o etins!"

Descartes an filosofie (the study o abstract ideas)

In his Meditations on First Filosofie (1641), Descartes uised his scienteefic method tae leuk at filosofical quaistens. He argied forenenst skepticism (the view that the warld wis na real, an daed na exist).

He fand that he hissel buist be real (exist), acause he feelt that he wis thinkin; an gif he wis thinkin, syne he buist be real. This is acause gif he war na real, then hou wad he hae this feelin that he wis thinkin. He shortened this view, sayin in Laitin, "Cogito ergo sum," meanin "A think, syne A am."

He thocht he coud kythe that God exists an aw, in the same wey that he feelt that he wis thinkin. Descartes said that God wis the same as infineety an that he coud clearly see infineety acause he coud think o ilka muckler object but no muckle maist object. Descartes said that gif God exists syne the warld buist exist an aw, acause God wis good an wad na lat us think the warld is real (exists) gif it daed na.

At lang an last, Descartes thocht that acause he ken he wis thinkin, but coud anerlie ken ochtlins ense aboot hissel (for ensaumple that he haed twa airms an twa legs) acause he ken that God exists, then he buist in fact be shapit o twa things: the mynd that thinks an the bouk that is independent o thocht process but unitit. This is cried "dualism".

Descartes uised a lot o ideas relatit tae Plato, whaurby maist fowk at that speal uised ideas relatit tae Aristotle. He is aften cried a raitionalist, acause he leukit in o his mynd for answers tae his quaistens. Awtho Descartes socht tae fecht skepticism, his descriving o it in the meditations haes acome gey kent an is aften cried Cartesian dout for him.