Putting the Horse Before Descartes Quiz

Answer: Dutch States Army

René Descartes was born in 1596 and his mother dies shortly after his birth, so Descartes was not given much of a chance to live. Despite this, he survived and grew, especially in knowledge, as he was considered wan and sickly. Nevertheless, his ambition was to become an army officer, so he enlisted as a mercenary in the Dutch States Army commanded by Maurice, Prince of Orange.

When in the army, Descartes was selected to study military engineering. This furthered his interest in math.

Answer: Discourse on the Method

René Descartes wrote "Discourse on the Method" in 1637. In the fourth part he stated the idea that our senses cannot be trusted at times and we begin to doubt our existence as a result. But, in order to ensure that we are not dreaming, all we need to do is to think, and therefore, we can say that we do exist.

In short, "je pense, donc je suis", or "cogito, ergo sum" in Latin, or, in English, "I think, therefore I am".

Answer: Aristotle

"Principles of Philosophy" was a book written by René Descartes, in Latin, that took all of the Aristotelian teachings and tried to update them. His intention was for people to use the book in universities. He dedicated it to Elisabeth of Bohemia, a former princess with whom Descartes had a long-lasting friendship.

He did diverge with Aristotle on several key points, Aristotle's "final clause" of nature, that everything had a certain purpose and could be explained by it. Descartes believed in the dualism of the physical universe and the mind which allowed for science while also allowing for the divine.

Answer: Analytic Geometry

When René Descartes published "Discourse on Method" in 1637 anonymously, he added to it a shorter essay called "La Géométrie". In it, Descartes offered a method called 'calcul géométrique' (geometric calculus) that was pretty revolutionary in how the numbers were constructed and understood.

He gave a way of connecting an equation for a curve and the picture of the curve itself. His goal was to solve a problem set out by the Greek 4th century mathematician Pappus of Alexandria, and his approach to the problem allowed for the basis for analytic geometry, or, how objects in 2D or 3D are analyzed through equations.

Answer: Descartes heard that Galileo had been convicted by the Inquisition

You have to remember that René Descartes was living at a time where the Catholic Church reigned supreme over all of Europe. When Descartes heard that Galileo had been convicted of heresy because of his findings and confined to house arrest, Descartes was worried that his book might gain him the same fate. He delayed publishing it, and, in fact, it was never fully published as one tome until 1677, 27 years after Descartes' death.

In the book were laws of motion, as understood by Descartes. As well, he published a theory on light which had twelve properties. Also, Descartes wrote about the universe emerging from an utter chaos into order. The book also contained findings in chemistry and biology.

Answer: Lawyer

Many of René Descartes' male relatives were lawyers, and, in 1616 Descartes obtained his law degree in Poitiers. However, Descartes never practiced law. Having found science in his youth, and receiving a vision in the form of three dreams while in the army, Descartes decided to pursue the sciences as a profession. Philosophy, on the other hand, came naturally to Descartes.

As for law, it was probably helpful for problem solving and for satisfying the familial expectations. Descartes' great uncle, Michel Ferrand, with whom Descartes had lived for a while, was the counsellor to the King of France. His father and older brother were both lawyers as well. The expectation was set high.

Answer: French lawyer/mathematician Pierre de Fermat

René Descartes was great at peer review and usually sent his material to be commented on by other prominent thinkers in the fields that he was writing about. However, he didn't always like the responses he got. When Descartes published "Meditations on First Philosophy", he included correspondences he had had with prominent thinkers, like Marin Mersenne, Thomas Hobbes, Johannes Caterus, Pierre Bourdin, Antoine Arnauld and more, however, he tried to rebut all the people who detracted from his work. He could ridicule other opinions to the point of even disrespecting them.

In fact, one time, when Descartes was arguing with Blaise Pascal about whether a vacuum could exist (Descartes definitively stated that it could not), he afterwards stated that Pascal had a "vacuum in his head".

Answer: Scientific method

Descartes was notable for including a measure of self-doubt in all of the ideas he put forth, and then tried to prove them beyond that doubt. This is seen by many as the basis for the scientific method, where one postulates a hypothesis, then goes to try and prove it assuming that one does not know whether it is true or not. Once a theory is proven beyond all doubts, then it must be universally true.

Answer: Sweden

René Descartes was selected by Queen Christina of Sweden to give her lessons on love. He stayed in the house of Pierre Chanut while arranging with the queen for lessons at 5 in the morning, three times a week. Queen Christina and Descartes did not get along, however, and the castle was drafty and cold, especially during the Swedish winter. Apparently, Descartes quickly contracted pneumonia and passed away ten days later from the illness. Queen Christina's physician was not allowed to treat Descartes by bleeding him, thus the rift between Descartes and the Queen lead some people to believe he was assassinated.

Answer: Skull

René Descartes was first buried in the Adolf Fredrik Church in Stockholm, Sweden. He was laid to rest in a graveyard which, at the time, was used primarily for orphans, as Sweden was a Protestant country and Descartes was a Catholic.

In 1666, Descartes' remains were moved to France and he was re-interred in a Parisian church near the Panthéon called Saint-Étienne-du-Mont. His remains being at that church made it famous, bringing other notable bodies to the graveyard like Pierre Perrault, Eustache Le Sueur, and Blaise Pascal.

In 1819, René Descartes' remains were moved for the second time to the Abbey of Saint-Germain-des-Prés. This time, however, the body was missing a skull and the right index finger. The finger is lost, unfortunately (it was given as a gift to a French ambassador to Sweden at some point), but the skull is on display at Musée de l'Homme, Paris, in an exhibit called "Man Exposed".