René Descartes summary
Learn about Rene Descartes as a mathematician and philosopher
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matter Summary
Matter, material substance that constitutes the observable universe and, together with energy, forms the basis of all objective phenomena. At the most fundamental level, matter is composed of elementary particles known as quarks and leptons (the class of elementary particles that includes
Cartesianism Summary
Cartesianism, the philosophical and scientific traditions derived from the writings of the French philosopher René Descartes (1596–1650). Metaphysically and epistemologically, Cartesianism is a species of rationalism, because Cartesians hold that knowledge—indeed, certain knowledge—can be derived
rationalism Summary
Rationalism, in Western philosophy, the view that regards reason as the chief source and test of knowledge. Holding that reality itself has an inherently logical structure, the rationalist asserts that a class of truths exists that the intellect can grasp directly. There are, according to the
a priori knowledge Summary
A priori knowledge, in Western philosophy since the time of Immanuel Kant, knowledge that is acquired independently of any particular experience, as opposed to a posteriori knowledge, which is derived from experience. The Latin phrases a priori (“from what is before”) and a posteriori (“from what