Editing René Descartes (section)

=== Career ===
==== France ====
In 1620, Descartes left the army. He visited [[Basilica della Santa Casa]] in Loreto, then visited various countries before returning to France, and during the next few years, he spent time in Paris. It was there that he composed his first essay on method: ''Regulae ad Directionem Ingenii'' (''[[Rules for the Direction of the Mind]]'').<ref name="Durandin"/> He arrived in [[The Hague|La Haye]] in 1623, selling all of his property to invest in [[Bond (finance)|bonds]], which provided a comfortable income for the rest of his life.{{sfn|Gaukroger|1995|page=132}}<ref name=":8" />{{Rp|94}} Descartes was present at the [[siege of La Rochelle]] by [[Cardinal Richelieu]] in 1627 as an observer.<ref name=":8">Shea, William R. 1991. ''The Magic of Numbers and Motion''. Science History Publications.</ref>{{Rp|128}} There, he was interested in the physical properties of the great dike that Richelieu was building and studied mathematically everything he saw during the siege. He also met French mathematician [[Girard Desargues]].<ref>{{Cite book |last=Aczel |first=Amir D. |url= |title=Descartes's Secret Notebook: A True Tale of Mathematics, Mysticism, and the Quest to Understand the Universe |date=2006-10-10 |publisher=Crown |isbn=978-0-7679-2034-6 |pages=127 |language=en}}</ref> In the autumn of that year, in the residence of the papal [[nuncio]] [[Giovanni Francesco Guidi di Bagno|Guidi di Bagno]], where he came with [[Marin Mersenne|Mersenne]] and many other scholars to listen to a lecture given by the alchemist, Nicolas de Villiers, Sieur de Chandoux, on the principles of a supposed new philosophy,<ref>Matton, Sylvain, ed. 2013. ''Lettres sur l'or potable suivies du traité De la connaissance des vrais principes de la nature et des mélanges et de fragments d'un Commentaire sur l'Amphithéâtre de la Sapience éternelle de Khunrath'', by Nicolas de Villiers. Paris: Préface de Vincent Carraud.</ref> Cardinal [[Pierre de Bérulle|Bérulle]] urged him to write an exposition of his new philosophy in some location beyond the reach of the Inquisition.<ref>Moote, A. L. 1989. ''Louis XIII, the Just''. [[Oakland, California|Oakland]]: [[University of California Press]]. [https://books.google.com/books?id=ya0wDwAAQBAJ&pg=PA271 pp. 271–72] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210816214232/https://books.google.com/books?id=ya0wDwAAQBAJ&pg=PA271 |date=16 August 2021 }}.</ref>

==== Netherlands ====
[[File:Westermarkt 6, Descarteshuis (links).JPG|thumb|upright=.8|In [[Amsterdam]], Descartes lived at Westermarkt 6 (Maison Descartes, left).]]
[[File:Descartes-2.jpg|alt=Title page of "Principia philosophiae" (Principles of Philosophy), 1656|thumb|Title page of "''[[Principles of Philosophy|Principia philosophiae]]''" ([[Principles of Philosophy]]), 1656]]
Descartes returned to the [[Dutch Republic]] in 1628.<ref name=":4" /> In April 1629, he joined the [[University of Franeker]], studying under [[Adriaan Metius]], either living with a Catholic family or renting the [[Sjaerdemaslot]]. The next year, under the name "Poitevin", he enrolled at [[Leiden University]], which at the time was a Protestant University.<ref>{{cite web | url=https://www.universiteitleiden.nl/en/dossiers/history-of-leiden-university/birds-eye-view | title=A bird's eye view | access-date=3 May 2022 | archive-date=21 September 2021 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210921053655/https://www.universiteitleiden.nl/en/dossiers/history-of-leiden-university/birds-eye-view | url-status=live }}</ref> He studied both mathematics with [[Jacobus Golius]], who confronted him with [[Pappus's hexagon theorem]], and [[astronomy]] with [[Martin van den Hove|Martin Hortensius]].<ref>[[A. C. Grayling|Grayling, A. C.]] 2006. ''Descartes: The Life of René Descartes and Its Place in His Times''. [[Simon & Schuster]]. pp. 151–52.</ref> In October 1630, he had a falling-out with Beeckman, whom he accused of plagiarizing some of his ideas. In Amsterdam, he had a relationship with a servant girl, Helena Jans van der Strom, with whom he had a daughter, [[Francine Descartes|Francine]], who was born in 1635 in [[Deventer]]. She was baptized a Protestant<ref>{{cite book | url=https://books.google.com/books?id=IRvIQkLFD60C&dq=descartes+convert+calvinism&pg=PA171 | isbn=978-1567923353 | title=Cogito, Ergo Sum: The Life of René Descartes | year=2007 | publisher=David R. Godine Publisher | access-date=3 May 2022 | archive-date=26 September 2022 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220926153941/https://www.google.com/books/edition/Cogito_Ergo_Sum/IRvIQkLFD60C?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=descartes+convert+calvinism&pg=PA171&printsec=frontcover | url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{cite book | url=https://books.google.com/books?id=WVFEEAAAQBAJ&dq=Helena+Jans+van+der+Strom+protestant&pg=PA8 | isbn=978-1633887947 | title=The Wisdom of the Enlightenment | date= 2022 | publisher=Rowman & Littlefield | access-date=3 May 2022 | archive-date=26 September 2022 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220926153941/https://www.google.com/books/edition/The_Wisdom_of_the_Enlightenment/WVFEEAAAQBAJ?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=Helena+Jans+van+der+Strom+protestant&pg=PA8&printsec=frontcover | url-status=live }}</ref> and died of scarlet fever at the age of 5.

Unlike many moralists of the time, Descartes did not deprecate the passions but rather defended them;<ref>{{Cite web |title=Descartes, Rene {{!}} Internet Encyclopedia of Philosophy |url=https://iep.utm.edu/rene-descartes/ |access-date=2023-05-10 |language=en-US}}</ref> he wept upon Francine's death in 1640.<ref>{{cite book |last1 = Durant |first1 = Will |last2 = Durant |first2 = Ariel |title = The Story of Civilization: Par VII, the Age of reason Begins |year = 1961 |publisher = Simon and Schuster |location = New York |isbn = 978-0-671-01320-2 |page =[https://archive.org/details/ageofreasonbegin07dura_0/page/638 638] |url = https://archive.org/details/ageofreasonbegin07dura_0/page/638 }}</ref> According to a recent biography by Jason Porterfield, "Descartes said that he did not believe that one must refrain from tears to prove oneself a man."<ref>Porterfield, J., ''René Descartes'' (New York: [[Rosen Publishing]], 2018), [https://books.google.com/books?id=UEJgDwAAQBAJ&pg=PA66 p. 66] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210816214228/https://books.google.com/books?id=UEJgDwAAQBAJ&pg=PA66 |date=16 August 2021 }}.</ref> [[Russell Shorto]] speculates that the experience of fatherhood and losing a child formed a turning point in Descartes's work, changing its focus from medicine to a quest for universal answers.<ref>Russell Shorto, ''Descartes' Bones: A Skeletal History of the Conflict Between Faith and Reason'' {{ISBN|978-0-385-51753-9}} (New York: Random House, 2008)</ref>

Despite frequent moves,{{NoteTag|While in the Netherlands he changed his address frequently, living among other places in Dordrecht (1628), [[Franeker]] (1629), Amsterdam (1629–1630), [[Leiden]] (1630), Amsterdam (1630–1632), Deventer (1632–1634), Amsterdam (1634–1635), [[Utrecht (city)|Utrecht]] (1635–1636), Leiden (1636), [[Egmond aan den Hoef|Egmond]] (1636–1638), [[Santpoort]] (1638–1640), Leiden (1640–1641), Endegeest (a castle near [[Oegstgeest]]) (1641–1643), and finally for an extended time in [[Egmond-Binnen]] (1643–1649).}} he wrote all of his major work during his 20-plus years in the Netherlands, initiating a revolution in mathematics and philosophy.{{NoteTag|He had lived with [[Henricus Reneri]] in Deventer and Amsterdam, and had met with [[Constantijn Huygens]] and Vopiscus Fortunatus Plempius; Descartes was interviewed by Frans Burman at Egmond-Binnen in 1648. [[Henricus Regius]], [[Jan Jansz de Jonge Stampioen|Jan Stampioen]], [[Frans van Schooten]], [[Comenius]] and [[Gisbertus Voetius]] were his main opponents.}} In 1633, Galileo was condemned by the [[Italian Inquisition]], and Descartes abandoned plans to publish ''[[The World (Descartes)|Treatise on the World]]'', his work of the previous four years. Nevertheless, in 1637, he published parts of this work in three essays:<ref name=":5">{{cite book |title = Math and mathematicians: the history of math discoveries around the world |volume = 1 |last=Bruno |first = Leonard C. |year=2003 |orig-year=1999 |publisher = U X L |others = Baker, Lawrence W. |isbn=978-0-7876-3813-9 |location = Detroit, MI |page=[https://archive.org/details/mathmathematicia00brun/page/103 103] |oclc=41497065 |url = https://archive.org/details/mathmathematicia00brun |url-access=registration }}</ref> "Les Météores" (The Meteors), "[[Dioptrique|La Dioptrique]]" (Dioptrics) and ''[[La Géométrie]]'' (''Geometry''), preceded by an introduction, his famous ''Discours de la méthode'' (''[[Discourse on the Method]]'').<ref name=":5" /> In it, Descartes lays out four rules of thought, meant to ensure that our knowledge rests upon a firm foundation:<ref>Descartes, ''Discourse on the Method'' (Zhubei: Hyweb Technology: 2011), [https://books.google.com/books?id=N04dAwAAQBAJ&pg=PT88 p. 88] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210816214231/https://books.google.com/books?id=N04dAwAAQBAJ&lpg=PP1&hl=cs&pg=PT88 |date=16 August 2021 }}.</ref>

{{Blockquote|The first was never to accept anything for true which I did not know to be such; that is to say, carefully to avoid precipitancy and prejudice, and to comprise nothing more in my judgment than what was presented to my mind so clearly and distinctly as to exclude all ground of doubt.|author=|title=|source=}}

In ''La Géométrie'', Descartes exploited the discoveries he made with [[Pierre de Fermat]]. This later became known as [[Cartesian geometry]].<ref name=":6">{{Cite encyclopedia|url=https://www.britannica.com/biography/Pierre-de-Fermat|title=Pierre de Fermat {{!}} Biography & Facts|encyclopedia=Encyclopædia Britannica|access-date=14 November 2017|language=en|archive-date=15 November 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171115083548/https://www.britannica.com/biography/Pierre-de-Fermat|url-status=live}}</ref>

[[File:René Descartes- Meditations on First Philosophy. First Meditation..webm|thumb|A reading from {{lang|la|Meditationes de Prima Philosophia}}, with English subtitles]] Descartes continued to publish works concerning both mathematics and philosophy for the rest of his life. In 1641, he published a metaphysics treatise, ''Meditationes de Prima Philosophia'' (''Meditations on First Philosophy''), written in Latin and thus addressed to the learned. It was followed in 1644 by ''Principia Philosophiae'' (''[[Principles of Philosophy]]''), a kind of synthesis of the ''Discourse on the Method'' and ''Meditations on First Philosophy''. In 1643, Cartesian philosophy was condemned at the [[Utrecht University|University of Utrecht]], and Descartes was obliged to flee to the Hague, settling in [[Egmond-Binnen]].

Between 1643 and 1649 Descartes lived with his girlfriend at Egmond-Binnen in an inn.<ref>{{cite web | url=https://guinevereglasfurd.com/2015/06/30/who-was-helena-jans/comment-page-1/ | title=Who was Helena Jans? | date=30 June 2015 }}</ref> Descartes became friendly with Anthony Studler van Zurck, lord of [[Bergen, North Holland|Bergen]], and participated in the design of his mansion and estate.<ref>{{cite web | url=https://www.herenvanholland.nl/studler-van-zurck-heer-van-bergen/ | title=Anthonis Studler van Zurck, Vlaams koopman en heer van Bergen | date=11 February 2016 }}</ref><ref>{{cite web | url=https://www.leeskost.nl/2016/05/ongelijke-vriendschap/ | title=Ongelijke vriendschap &#124; LeesKost }}</ref><ref>{{cite web | url=https://onh.nl/verhaal/het-landhuis-t-oude-hof-te-bergen | title=Het landhuis 't Oude Hof te Bergen }}</ref> He also met [[Dirck Rembrantsz van Nierop]], a mathematician and [[surveyor]].<ref>{{cite book
|editor=Marlise Rijks|title=The correspondence of Dirck Rembrantsz van Nierop (1610-1682) |year=2012 |publisher=Huygens ING|location=The Hague |isbn=9789087592714 |url=https://researchportal.vub.be/en/publications/the-correspondence-of-dirck-rembrantsz-van-nierop-1610-1682}}</ref> He was so impressed by Van Nierop's knowledge that he even brought him to the attention of [[Constantijn Huygens]] and Frans van Schooten.<ref>{{cite web | url=https://flessenpostuitegmond.nl/nieuw-boek-peter-van-den-berg-de-schoenmaker-en-de-filosoof/ | title=Nieuw boek Peter van den Berg: De Schoenmaker en de Filosoof | date=3 June 2022 }}</ref>
[[File:Jan Baptist Weenix - Portrait of René Descartes.jpg|thumb|right|Portrait of René Descartes by [[Jan Baptist Weenix]], 1647–1649]]
[[Christia Mercer]] suggested that Descartes may have been influenced by Spanish author and Roman Catholic nun [[Teresa of Ávila]], who, fifty years earlier, published ''[[The Interior Castle]]'', concerning the role of philosophical reflection in intellectual growth.<ref name="CM2017">Mercer, C., [https://philpapers.org/rec/MERDDT "Descartes' debt to Teresa of Ávila, or why we should work on women in the history of philosophy"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210816214227/https://philpapers.org/rec/MERDDT |date=16 August 2021 }}, ''[[Philosophical Studies]]'' 174, 2017.</ref><ref>Craig, D. J., [https://magazine.columbia.edu/article/she-thinks-therefore-i-am "She Thinks, Therefore I Am"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210816214229/https://magazine.columbia.edu/article/she-thinks-therefore-i-am |date=16 August 2021 }}, ''Columbia Magazine'', Fall 2017.</ref>

Descartes began (through Alfonso Polloti, an Italian general in Dutch service) a six-year correspondence with [[Elisabeth of the Palatinate|Princess Elisabeth of Bohemia]], devoted mainly to moral and psychological subjects.<ref>Harth, E., ''Cartesian Women: Versions and Subversions of Rational Discourse in the Old Regime'', ([[Ithaca, New York|Ithaca]]: [[Cornell University Press]], 1992), [https://books.google.com/books?id=9Mpe59dmSfEC&pg=PA67 pp. 67–77] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210816214230/https://books.google.com/books?id=9Mpe59dmSfEC&pg=PA67 |date=16 August 2021 }}.</ref> Connected with this correspondence, in 1649 he published ''Les Passions de l'âme'' (''[[The Passions of the Soul]]''), which he dedicated to the Princess. A French translation of ''Principia Philosophiae'', prepared by Abbot Claude Picot, was published in 1647. This edition was also dedicated to Princess Elisabeth. In [[Principles of Philosophy#Preface to the French edition|the preface to the French edition]], Descartes praised true philosophy as a means to attain wisdom. He identifies four ordinary sources to reach wisdom and finally says that there is a fifth, better and more secure, consisting in the search for first causes.<ref>Blom, John J., ''Descartes, His Moral Philosophy and Psychology''. New York University Press, 1978. {{ISBN|0-8147-0999-0}}</ref>

====Sweden====
[[File:Dispute-of-queen-cristina-vasa-and-rene-descartes.png|thumb|250px|right|Descartes in conversation with [[Queen Christina of Sweden|Queen Christina]] in [[Stockholm]]]]

By 1649, Descartes had become one of Europe's most famous philosophers and scientists.<ref name=":5" /> That year, [[Queen Christina of Sweden]] invited him to her court to organize a new scientific academy and tutor her in his ideas about love.<ref name="Åkerman 1991">{{cite book |author-last=Åkerman |author-first=Susanna |year=1991 |title=Queen Christina of Sweden and her Circle: The Transformation of a Seventeenth-Century Philosophical Libertine |chapter=Christina and Descartes: Disassembling A Myth |chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=E-V5DwAAQBAJ&pg=PA44 |location=[[Leiden]] and [[Boston]] |publisher=[[Brill Publishers]] |series=Brill's Studies in Intellectual History |volume=21 |pages=44–69 |doi=10.1163/9789004246706_004 |isbn=978-90-04-24670-6 |issn=0920-8607}}</ref> Descartes accepted, and moved to the [[Swedish Empire]] in the middle of winter.<ref>{{Cite book|title=Math and mathematicians: the history of math discoveries around the world|last=Bruno|first=Leonard C.|date=2003|orig-year=1999|publisher=U X L|others=Baker, Lawrence W.|isbn=978-0-7876-3813-9|location=Detroit, Mich.|pages=[https://archive.org/details/mathmathematicia00brun/page/103 103]–04|oclc=41497065|url=https://archive.org/details/mathmathematicia00brun|url-access=registration}}</ref> Christina was interested in and stimulated Descartes to publish ''The Passions of the Soul''.<ref name="Smith">{{cite encyclopedia |last=Smith |first=Kurt |title=Descartes' Life and Works |encyclopedia=[[Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy]] |date=Fall 2010 |url=http://plato.stanford.edu/entries/descartes-works/ |access-date=2 May 2005 |archive-date=23 March 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210323211048/https://plato.stanford.edu/entries/descartes-works/ |url-status=live }}</ref>

He was a guest at the house of [[Pierre Chanut]], living on [[Västerlånggatan]], less than 500 meters from Castle [[Tre Kronor (castle)|Tre Kronor]] in [[Stockholm]]. There, Chanut and Descartes made observations with a [[Evangelista Torricelli|Torricellian]] mercury barometer.<ref name="Åkerman 1991"/> Challenging [[Blaise Pascal]], Descartes took the first set of barometric readings in Stockholm to see if [[atmospheric pressure]] could be used in forecasting the weather.<ref>''Modern meteorology: a series of six lectures: delivered under the auspices of the Meteorological Society in 1878'', 1879, [https://archive.org/details/modernmeteorolog00mete/page/72/mode/2up?q=Stockholm p. 73].</ref>