René Descartes is best known for “I think, therefore I am,” but there’s much more to his genius than philosophy. Explore the wild travels, secret notebooks, and mathematical revolutions of the man who laid the foundation for modern science and thought.
René Descartes
René Descartes invented analytic geometry, which made it possible to describe curves with equations and launched modern calculus.
He wrote much of his work in secret, fearing persecution from the Church.
Descartes believed animals had no souls and were essentially machines—his views shocked later scientists.
He used to lie in bed until noon, claiming that thinking was best done while lying down.
Descartes served as a soldier in multiple European armies before becoming a philosopher.
He kept a waxed coat handy so he could flee quickly if accused of heresy.
His most famous philosophical statement, “Cogito, ergo sum,” was first written in French: “Je pense, donc je suis.”
René Descartes used reason as the foundation of all knowledge, rejecting everything that couldn’t be logically proven.
He created a system of coordinates that gave us the x and y axes still used in math today.
Descartes corresponded with Queen Christina of Sweden, who insisted he tutor her at 5 a.m. during winter.
He died shortly after arriving in Sweden, likely from pneumonia caused by the brutal early mornings.
René Descartes’ skull was stolen, passed between collectors, and is now kept in a Paris museum.
He once claimed that a vivid dream inspired him to devote his life to science and logic.
He argued that the human body worked like a machine—a radical idea for his time.
Despite his fame, most of his work was banned by the Catholic Church for nearly 200 years.
