Descartes Rene: a brief biography and a contribution to science. Proceedings and teachings of the mathematician Descartes

Descartes Rene (a brief biography of this man is the subject of our study) was a famous French physicist, mathematician, and also a physiologist and philosopher. He was the founder of the new European rationalism. One of the most influential metaphysicians of modern times.

Life of Rene Descartes

The scientist was born on March 31, 1596 in France. Since the parents were noblemen, the boy from the very childhood received a good education. In 1606 Renee was sent to the Jesuit College La Flash. Since the health of the guy was weak, in the educational institution for him did the relaxation of the regime. For example, his morning began a little later than other students. In the same college, Descartes hated scholastic philosophy and carried this feeling through his whole life.

After graduating from the college, Renee decided to receive further education, so he received a bachelor's degree in law from the University of Poitiers.

And already in 1619 Descartes finally decides to engage in science. During this period he was able to discover the basics of a new "astonishing science".

In the twentieth year of the seventeenth century, he became acquainted with the mathematician Mersenne, who had a significant influence on the scientist.

In 1637, the famous work of René Descartes, published in French, "The Discourse on the Method," is published. It was with this publication that the New European philosophy began.

"Discourse on the method"

Descartes Rene (short biography is a confirmation of this) had a philosophical point of view that illustrated the attempts of European culture and traditions to get rid of old concepts and build a new life, as well as science. The truth, according to the scientist, is only the "natural light" of the human mind.

Of course, Descartes does not exclude the value of human experience, but he believes that his only function is to help the mind in those cases in which the forces for knowing are not enough.

Rene Descartes, whose ideas are used in modern philosophy, considered the concept of deduction, or "movement of thought," in which intuitive truths are combined. The human intellect is weak, therefore it needs constant checking of the steps taken. This technique is necessary in order to check the absence of gaps in reasoning. Such a test scientist calls induction. But the result of deduction is a system of universal knowledge, or "universal science." Rene compares this science with a tree. Its root is metaphysics, the trunk is physics, and branches are such sciences as mechanics, ethics and medicine. Each of these sciences should be useful. In order for each industry to be as effective as possible, metaphysics must be absolutely correct.

Doubt and truth

Descartes René, whose brief biography describes the most important life stages, believed that metaphysics as a science should begin with an unconditional constant of any beginning. It seems to him that the existence of the whole world and God can be questioned, but that there is a person, he is sure.

"I doubt, therefore, I exist" - the truth formulated by René Descartes, which made a significant turn of the European philosophy of modern times. The basis of any thought is consciousness, therefore the scientist denies any manifestation of unconscious thinking. The idea is a real property of the soul, therefore it is a "thinking thing".

However, despite the fact that the scientist considers his own existence to be unquestionable, he is not completely sure that the soul exists. It can even be considered a substance that exists separately from the human body. In fact, the human body and soul are true allies. But since the latter itself is independent, for Rene Descartes it is the pledge of the probable immortality of the soul.

Reflections on God

Descartes René, whose brief biography is proof of the emergence of a new philosophy, reflected on the doctrine of God.

In addition, later he was able to give some evidence of the existence of the Almighty. The most well-known factor is the ontological argument. It is impossible to deny the existence of God without contradictions.

No less important argument is the very necessity for the existence of the Supreme. From God we receive the belief that the external world exists and it is real. The Lord can not deceive, therefore the material world exists in reality.

Naturalistic philosophy

After the scientist was convinced of the existence of the material world, he begins to study its properties. The main quality of any material things is their extent. Empty space does not exist, because everywhere there is a stretch, there is an extended thing.

The teachings of René Descartes on the philosophy of nature report that other properties of material things exist only in human perception. And they are not in the objects themselves.

The scientist believes that all matter consists of several elements: earth, fire and air. Objects can differ only in magnitude. In addition, things can not change their state without the presence of irritants. And they move in a straight line - a symbol of permanence.

In his writings Rene Descartes talks about the preservation of a given number of world movements. But the movement itself is not a property of matter, but comes from God. One of the primary factors is enough that the matter, which is in chaos, independently turned into a harmonic space.

Soul and body

Rene Descartes, whose discoveries are known all over the world, devoted much time to the study of living organisms. He considered them to be sensitive mechanisms that are able to adapt to any environment and respond to external stimuli. External effects are transmitted to the brain and affect muscle contraction. The movements carried out by the body are a sequence and a set of contractions.

Animals do not have a soul, but they do not need it. But the scientist was not worried about this. He was more interested in why a person has a soul. In the human body, it can perform the function of adjusting the body's natural responses to stimuli.

The scientist studied the internal organs of animals, and also studied the embryos at all stages of their development. The works of Rene Descartes became the pledge of the modern successful doctrine of reflexes. In his works, schemes of reflex reactions were shown with allowance for the reflex arc.

Rene Descartes: achievements in the field of physics and mathematics

The scientist was the first to introduce coefficients, variables, and also the notation of degrees. He contributed to the theory of equations: he formulated the rule of signs to find the number of negative and positive roots. Also showed that the equation of the third degree can be solved in square radicals or with a ruler and a compass.

Together with Pierre, Fermat became the author of analytical geometry. This science allowed to algebraize the geometry and to consider it using the coordinate method. The coordinate system proposed to them is named after the scientist.

In 1637 Descartes wrote a manual "Geometry", in which he spoke about the interaction of algebra and geometry. Here for the first time such concepts as function and variable value were considered.

Also in this work were included lines that describe the movement of their hinged mechanisms. Investigating the lenses, the scientist outlined the basic methods of constructing tangents and normals to flat curves.

Now the whole world knows what Rene Descartes discovered. His work "Geometry" influenced the development of all areas of mathematical sciences. Thanks to the system of coordinates he invented, it was possible to really interpret the origin of the negative number.

The works of Descartes also have great significance for physics. I was able to formulate the law of inertia, and also became the author of the law on the refraction of light rays.

The meaning of Descartes's works for philosophy

Through his labors, the scientist was able to channel the flow of modern philosophy into a different direction. B. Spinoza and other European thinkers listened to his advice on the creation of philosophy as an exact science. And also that metaphysics should be built at the expense of the doctrine of the soul. Also, Descartes brought a new level of controversy about the evidence of the existence of God.

The nature of the scientist

Rene Descartes, whose discoveries proved to be very useful to the whole society, was a very silent person, and answered all the questions that required wise answers simply and dryly. This behavior led to a rather lonely lifestyle. However, in the company of close friends and acquaintances, he became a very sociable and cheerful interlocutor.

According to Balieu, around the scientist gathered a large number of loyal and devoted friends and fans, but the scientist was not endowed with the ability to love others. In dealing with his peers he was arrogant and arrogant, but, approaching people of higher descent, immediately became a flattering courtier.

A few words about Rene Descartes

The scientist's mother died a few days after his birth. The boy himself was alive, but until the age of twenty he was in a state that was not very close to life. A constant dry cough and pale complexion was a confirmation. His childhood he spent in a wonderful place, which was famous for its mild climate, fertile soils and magical gardens.

After leaving school at the age of seventeen, he completely stopped playing books and studying. The young man was interested only in fencing and horse riding. But this does not mean that his creative personality did not receive the knowledge that she needed for further work.

All experiences and impressions that fully embraced young Descartes immediately became generalizations and laws. While fond fondling, the future scientist wrote "Treatise on Fencing".

At the end of his life, René visited the Kingdom of Sweden at the invitation of Queen Christina herself. She promised to give the already old scientist a large estate in Pomerania. But in exchange for this, Descartes had to teach her philosophy.

The sick man had to get up very early to be at the palace at five o'clock in the morning. The trip to the castle of the queen was long and harsh. Once during such a trip the scientist returned with pneumonia. After nine days, Rene Descartes passed away.