BIOGRAPHY Rene Descartes

 

Rene Descartes is a philosopher, mechanic, mathematician, physicist, and physiologist who created analytical geometry and contemporary algebraic symbolism.

Cogito, ergo sum-I think, therefore I am. This phrase made by Rene Descartes is immortal. He left a huge legacy, and in entirely different branches of science, he owns the discovery of algebraic symbolism, which is still used today, he left his mark on geometry, physics, and reflexology, but it is this phrase that contains the main philosophical idea that he adhered to his whole life.

CHILDHOOD

René Descartes was born on March 31, 1596, in the city of Lake, in the province of Touraine Now this city bears his name. The boy's father, Joachim Descartes, belongs to an impoverished noble family. He was a member of the parliament and served as a judge of the Breton High Court of the town of Rennes. He was at home only 6 months a year, the rest of the time he was in the service. Rene's mother is Jeanne Brochard, the daughter of the Viceroy of the King in the Province.

RENE WAS THE YOUNGEST OF THE THREE SONS. MOM DIED WHEN HE WAS A ONE-YEAR-OLD BABY SO THE MATERNAL GRANDMOTHER WAS ENGAGED IN RAISING ALL THREE CHILDREN.

From early childhood, the boy was distinguished by increased curiosity and an inquisitive mind, but he was very weak physically. René's first educational institution was the Jesuit College La Fleche. All students obey the strict rules of this institution, and only Descartes did they make some concessions. For example, he was allowed to sleep more, unlike other students.

The educational process within this institution was built on a religious orientation, however, as in all similar schools. Rene strove for knowledge, he valued his studies, but he soon started to doubt the sincerity of philosophical authorities.

After completing his studies at the college, the young man left for Poitiers, where he continued his studies in law and after some time became a bachelor. Then the young man does not live long in the capital in 1617 he enlists in the army He fought in Holland, where the revolution raged in those years, then some of them were transferred to Prague. During his stay in Holland Descartes met with the physicist Isaac Beckmann.

Then the young man returns to Paris and puts forth his revolutionary ideas, which the Jesuits did not like so much. Fearing their persecution, Rene went to Holland, where he did not leave for twenty years. Throughout his life, Descartes suffered from persecution and attacks by the church, which rejected his progressive ideas, which in no way correspond to the level of development of the then-science.

PHILOSOPHY

In philosophical research, Rene Descartes adhered to dualism, he believed in the existence of two substances: material and ideal. Each of these principles is considered independent. In addition, he adhered to the concept that there are two kinds of entities in the world—thinking and extended and that both of them are formed by God. To form them, God uses the same laws, matter is created simultaneously with the movement, the rest, and preservation of substances.

Descartes considered rationalism to be one of the universal methods of knowledge The scientist was of the opinion that man is the dominant force over nature. Rene believed it was the imperfection of man and his dissimilarity to God that fettered the possibilities of his mind. These reasonings of Descartes later became the basis for the laying of rationalism.

The scientist proceeded from the fact that generally accepted knowledge and judgments cannot be considered true and infallible, he called for questioning everything. The well-known phrase “I think, therefore I am” is precisely caused by these doubts.

According to the philosopher, everybody can doubt the existence of not only their own bodily shell but also the world around them as a whole. However, there is no doubt about it.

MATHEMATICS AND PHYSICS

The main philosophical and mathematical work of Descartes is the book Discourse on the Method, which consists of several appendices. In one appendix, he exposed analytical geometry, in the second he introduced the rules of operation of optical phenomena and devices. René's main achievement was the exposition of the law of the refraction of light, which no one before it could compose.

IT WAS DESCARTES WHO FIRST INTRODUCED THE EXPONENT WHICH IS STILL USED TODAY. HE OWNS THE IDEA TO PUT A LINE OVER THE NUMBER TAKEN AT THE ROOT

He came up with the designation of unknown characters with the letters "x, y, z", and the constant values with the letters "a, b, c." Descartes worked on the development of the canonical form of equations used this day - this is when the right side of the equation is equal to zero.

It was Rene who invented the modern coordinate system, which played an important role in the improvement of the two exact sciences - physics and mathematics. He used it to make it possible to describe the geometrical properties of curves and solids using classical algebra. Thanks to this innovation, it has become possible to more detailed and accurate interpretation of negative numbers.

The mathematician devoted a lot of time to the study of algebraic and “mechanical” functions, holding the opinion that there is no single method for studying them. Descartes was involved in the study of real numbers, but he also paid due attention to complex ones. He owns the concept of “imaginary negative roots”, conjugated with complex numbers.

In the second half of the 17th century all mathematicians used in their writings the research done in their time by Descartes the scientific papers of Newton, Euler, and other scientists were based on the work of Rene in the field of geometry, mathematics, physics, and optics.

DESCARTES METHOD

The scientist was one hundred percent sure that experience should only be used in cases where reflection alone does not make it possible to find the truth. All his life, René was guided by the four main components of the method that helps in the search for truth:

First, you need to use the most obvious ones, beyond any doubt. It is from what are there are no opposites.

Any problem needs to be broken into many smaller components. There should be just enough of them to find a productive solution to this problem.

First, you need to use the simplest, and then move to the more difficult.

After completing each stage, you need to beat the result and double-check whether the conclusions are drawn up correctly, so after completing the study, you can get complete confidence in the objectivity of the result.

Many years later, investigators came to the conclusion that the rules used by Descartes were a vivid demonstration of the rejection of outdated dogmas, that thanks to them, a progressive, new, and objective science arose.

PERSONAL LIFE

History has not preserved the details of the personal life of renowned scientists. According to contemporaries, Descartes was characterized by arrogance, in society he was most frequently silent, preferring to spend time in solitude. But on the other hand, he communicated with people very easily and was relaxed, he could joke and have fun. Most likely, Descartes was not married.

Already a mature man fell in love. The subject of his passion was a simple maid, who gave birth to the scientist’s only child - daughter Francine Despite the fact that the girl was considered illegal, the scientist loved her very much. Francine died at the age of five when she contracted scarlet fever. Rene considered her departure as the biggest loss.

DEATH

For many years Descartes was persecuted because it was considered science from a different point of view. In 1649, at the invitation of the Swedish Queen Christina, the scholar settled in Stockholm. Their correspondence lasted for many years, Christina admired his genius and turned assured him that he could live in peace in Stockholm. However, Descartes has failed to enjoy the tranquility of metropolitan life. Literally, immediately after the move, he caught a bad cold and could not cope with the disease. He was soon diagnosed with pneumonia, from which he died on February 11, 1650.

Researchers of the scientist's biography are of the opinion that Descartes' death was not caused by pneumonia, but by poisoning. The poisoners could be sent to the Catholic Church. The priests could not admit that the free-thinking scholar was in direct contact with the Swedish queen, whom they tried to convert to their faith. 4 years after the death of the scientist There is no real evidence of the poisoning version, but many biographers do not deny it.