He Freed the Minds of Men: Rene Descartes

by Edwin P. Hoyt

A biography of the seventeenth-century French mathematician and philosopher whose revolutionary methods of reasoning greatly influenced future scientific thinking. This description may be from another edition of this product.

• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0671321099
• ISBN13: 9780671321093
• Release Date: January 1969
• Publisher: Julian Messner
• Length: 187 Pages
• Weight: 0.85 lbs.

Customer Reviews

The life of Descartes told to young adults

The most famous line ever uttered in philosophy is, "I think, therefore I am", by Rene Descartes. He was a very original thinker in philosophy and mathematics; the development of the Cartesian coordinate system greatly simplified many areas of mathematics. Descartes also lived at a time when new ideas were upsetting the established order and those who pushed those new ideas could face censure and even death. The grip the Catholic Church had over Europe had been pried open, with northern Europe now under the sway of the alternate Protestant faith. Both were conservative in outlook, neither was very amenable to new ideas that could be considered a challenge to their systems of beliefs. This led to years of many different wars, although as Hoyt correctly points out, religion was a secondary concern in many of them. They were classic struggles over political power and the protagonist's primary use of religion was to further their personal ambitions. Descartes grew up in a family of privilege and his talents were recognized at an early age. He spent many years as a gentleman soldier, although it is difficult to determine how personally involved he was in the fighting. This biography is written at the level of the young adult and accurately describes the role Descartes played in shaping the new, skeptical way of thinking about the world. Unfortunately, there are some places where the author uses a bit of poetic license in describing some conversations and events. I doubt very much if the sailors with murder in their hearts spoke exactly the way it is related and the conversations Descartes had with non-philosophers most likely did not follow the path put forward in the book. Embellishments such as the plump baroness who, "simpered and hid behind her fan" are exactly that. It is just as likely that the baroness was arrogant, considering Descartes to be slightly above the level of a servant. Nevertheless, this book does give a reasonable, readable explanation of the life of Descartes and the significant role he played in the development of the modern, critical scientific method.