René Descartes

Meditations on First Philosophy

Foundational philosophical work establishing methodical doubt and thinking substance

About the author

René Descartes
René Descartes

French philosopher and mathematician who founded modern Western philosophy with his method of radical doubt and the famous cogito ('I think, therefore I am'). He separated mind and body in a dualism that defined subsequent philosophical debate. His Meditations remains the most read work of early modern philosophy.

More by René Descartes