René Descartes (1596-1650) was a French philosopher and scientist. He has been dubbed the “Father of Modern Philosophy” and much of the subsequent Western philosophy is in response to his writings which continue to be studied closely to this day. Descartes was also one of the key figures in the Scientific Revolution.

            Descartes is often regarded as the first thinker to provide a philosophical framework for the natural sciences as they began to develop.

            Descartes is best known for the philosophical statement “Cogito ero sum”, I think, therefore I am (French: Je pense, donc je suis). This statement refers to an existential view described as:

"Resolving to seek no knowledge other than that of which could be found in myself or else in the great book of the world, I spent the rest of my youth travelling, visiting courts and armies, mixing with people of diverse temperaments and ranks, gathering various experiences, testing myself in the situations which fortune offered me, and at all times reflecting upon whatever came my way so as to derive some profit from it."

(Descartes, Discourse on the Method, 1637).