Rene Descartes

Biography

	Rene Descartes was born into a middle class French family in the town of La haye on March 31, 1596. His mother died when he was only one year old; thus, his grandparents raised him until he was ten. H ewould then attend a Jesuit school at La Fleche. He earned his law degree in the Univeristy of Poitiers, and then would later serve in the Military. It is during his military service that Descartes would meet Isaac Beeckman, a man who would spark Descartes philophical and intellectual interest. because of a small family fortune of some sort, Descartes was able to persevere in his eternal quest for knowledge while living in comfort. During this time, his goal was to “develop a rational method that could free scientific thinkign and philosphical discourse from the ramaptn skepticism that threatend to drwon discussion of important metaphysical and epistemological quesitons in a sea of uncertainty” It is because of this that many regard Descartes to be the father of modern philosphy. In 1628, Descartes would settle in the Netherlands, where he would contract pnemonia from a French ambassador who was dying of the disease. He died on February 11, 1650.

Famous Works: The World(1633) , Discourse on Method(1637), Mediations Concerning Primary Philosphy(1644), Rules for Direction of the Mind (1701)

Biliography

	Descartes and His Contemporaries. The University of Chicago Press: Chicago, 1995.

	Descartes, Rene. Discourse on Method adn the Mediitiations. Promethius Books: New York,  1989. Veitch, John Translator.