A Letter to you from
“Iexist, I think; therefore I am” I have espoused rationalism and dualism. My philosophy consisted of a method of doubting everything, then rebuilding knowledge from the ground. Have you tried doubting the roots of a theory and one by one, gaining knowledge and constructing the theory all over again? That is how I developed Cartesian geometry.
“La Géométrie”, in my book “Discourse on Method”, is now considered a landmark in the history of mathematics. Following on from early movements towards the use of symbolic expressions in mathematics by Diophantus, Al- Khwarizmi and François Viète, through “La Géométrie” I have introduced what has become known as the standard algebraic notation, using ing lowercase a, b and c for known quantities and x, y and z for unknown quantities.
It was in “La Géométrie” that I first proposed that each point in two dimensions can be described by two numbers on a plane, one giving the point’s hori- zontal location and the other the vertical l location, which have come to be known as Cartesian coordinates. By using perpendicular lines (or axes), crossing at a point called the origin, I tried to measure the horizontal (x) and vertical ( y) locations, both positive and negative, thus effectively dividing the plane up into four quadrants.
My work is usually referred to as analytic geometry or Cartesian geometry, had the effect of allowing the conversion of geometry into algebra ( and vice versa). Thus, a pair of simultaneous equations can now be solved either algebraically or graphically (at the intersection of two lines). It allowed the development of Newton’s and Leibniz’s subsequent discoveries of calculus. It also unlocked the possibility of navigating geometries of higher dimensions, impossible to physically visualize - a concept which was to become central to modern technology and physics.
This is all math jargon for you probably, but isn’t it interesting to be a little curious and gain knowledge of these. I studied in Jesuit college of La Flèche when I was young and then entered the University of Poitiers, where a year later I received my Baccalaureate and License in Canon &
Civil Law. I joined the army for few
years, I cannot tell you my mission in the army but of course it is here that I met the Dutch scientist and philosopher Isaac Beeckman. He was what aroused my curiosity for science, specially geometry and algebra. “If you would be a real seeker after truth, it is necessary that at least once in your life you doubt, as far as possible, all things.”
I have doubted the pure existence of man and by learning physics and science built up theories as to how we exist. I am accustomed to sleep and in my dreams to imagine the same things that lunatics imagine when awake. In the book “Principles” which I couldn’t complete, the work is divided into four Parts, with five hundred and four articles. Part One develops metaphysics. Part two was originally intended to deal with plants, animals, and man. I have previously written the book “Meditations” and this book is a development of it I could say. It discusses about the proof of god’s existence and some reversed prin principles as well. “Common sense is the most fairly distrib tributed thing in the world, for each one thi thinks he is so well-endowed with it that eve even those who are hardest to satisfy in all oth other matters are not in the habit of desirin ing more of it than they already have.” Therefore you see everything is questi tionable. I suggest you dig deep in to your c conscience, brain since you do not use even 1% of it. There’s more to this world than what you currently focus on. It is n not simple to develop theologies and construct what we simply call life. T To reveal something which you didn’t kno know, I provided the first distinctly modern formulation of laws of nature and a conservation principle of motion, made numerous advances in optics and the study of the reflection and refraction of light, and constructed the most popular theory of planetary motion of the late 17th Century. Don’t try to shine in another’s light. Yes, you do get the recognition but you will never get the knowledge or insight in life. We live to understand the reason for our pure existence and how it occurs. That is why philosophy is important. Nurture your mind to create what you may call “the impossible”. But in reality, there are no boundaries. It’s a gigantic universe and we are a small atom in it. Great minds are created and unleashed from their true potential through what I learn; Philosophy. To meet beyond this universe, Rene Descartes Written by Devuni Goonewardene email devuni@gmail.com for discussions, criticisms and feedback