Descartes's Discourse on the Method and modern philosophy
- Date
- 1637
- Category
- Culture, arts & philosophy
- Region
- Dutch Republic (published Leiden) / France
- Era
- Early Modern
- Significance
In 1637 the French philosopher and mathematician Rene Descartes published the Discourse on the Method (Discours de la methode), written in French rather than Latin to reach a broad audience.
Seeking a foundation for knowledge immune to doubt, Descartes adopted a programme of systematic scepticism, provisionally rejecting everything that could conceivably be false, including the testimony of the senses and even mathematics, by imagining an all-powerful deceiver. The one certainty that survived was the act of thinking itself, captured in the celebrated formula 'I think, therefore I am' (je pense, donc je suis; later Latinised as cogito, ergo sum). From this point he sought to rebuild knowledge on rational, deductive foundations. The Discourse also appeared with scientific appendices, including his work on analytic geometry, which fused algebra and geometry and gave us Cartesian coordinates. By privileging reason, methodical doubt and mathematical clarity, Descartes laid the groundwork for rationalist philosophy and a mechanistic view of nature. Alongside Bacon's empiricism, his method shaped the intellectual framework of the Scientific Revolution and earned him the title of a founder of modern Western philosophy.
One piece of history in your inbox, weekly
New empires, events and features as they land — one good email a week. No spam, unsubscribe anytime.
Empires active in 1637
- Solomonic dynasty1270 CE – 1974 CE
- Ottoman Empire1299 CE – 1922 CE
- Mughal Empire1526 CE – 1857 CE
- Portuguese Empire1415 CE – 1999 CE
- Spanish Empire1492 CE – 1976 CE
- Ming Dynasty1368 CE – 1644 CE
Related culture, arts & philosophy events
- Locke's Two Treatises and Essay: social contract and empiricism1689 (published; dated 1690)
- The Enlightenment (Age of Reason)c. 1685–1815
- Construction of the Taj Mahal1632–1653
- Francis Bacon's Novum Organum and the scientific method1620
- Shah Abbas I and the golden age of Safavid Isfahan1598 (capital moved to Isfahan)
- Voltaire's Lettres philosophiques popularises English liberty1733 (English) / 1734 (French)
Further reading
The wider story
The Story of Art
The best-selling art history ever written, from cave paintings to the modern age.
Get it on Amazon →As an Amazon Associate, Human Saga earns from qualifying purchases.