Ren Descartes

(1596-1650)

He was known as the Father of Modern Philosophy. Ren Descartes was born on 31
March 1596. He was a French philosopher, mathematician, and scientist who spent about
20 years of his life in the Dutch Republic.
He is credited as the father of analytical geometry, the bridge between algebra and
geometry, used in the discovery of infinitesimal calculus and analysis. Descartes was also
one of the key figures in the scientific revolution.
His best known philosophical statement is "Cogito ergo sum" (I think, therefore I am)
found in part IV of Discourse on the Method (1637 written in French but with
inclusion of "Cogito ergo sum") and 7 of part I of Principles of Philosophy (1644
written in Latin).
 About Ren Descartes
Descartes was born in La Haye en Touraine (now Descartes), Indre-et-Loire,
France, on March 31, 1596. When he was one year old, his mother Jeanne Brochard died
after trying to give birth to another child that also died. His father Joachim was a member
of the Parliament of Brittany at Rennes. Ren lived with his grandmother and with his
great-uncle.
In 1607, late because of his fragile health, he entered the Jesuit Collge Royal
Henry-Le-Grand at La Flche where he was introduced to mathematics and physics,
including Galileo's work. After graduation in 1614, he studied two years at the University
of Poitiers, earning a Baccalaurat and License in law, in accordance with his father's
wishes that he should become a lawyer. From there he moved to Paris.

CARTESIAN PLANE
When Ren was a child, he was often sick, so the teachers at his boarding school
let him stay in bed until noon. He went on staying in bed until noon for almost all his life.
While in bed, Descartes thought about math and philosophy.
One day, he noticed a fly crawling around on the ceiling. He watched the fly for a
long time. He wanted to know how to tell someone else where the fly was. Finally he
realized that he could describe the position of the fly by its distance from the walls of the
room. When he got out of bed, he wrote down what he had discovered. Then he tried
describing the positions of points, the same way he described the position of the fly.
Descartes had invented the coordinate plane! In fact, the coordinate plane is sometimes
called the Cartesian plane, in his honor.

A Cartesian coordinate system is a
coordinate system that specifies each
point uniquely in a plane by a pair of
numerical coordinates, which are the
signed distances from the point to two
fixed perpendicular directed lines,
measured in the same unit of length. It is
a plane which has a horizontal line (x
axis) and a vertical line (y axis). It is also
known as coordinate plane.
When we graph the points of a
relationship in a Cartesian plane, then we
can determine if a relationship is a
function. Functions are used for
modeling caused and effect
relationshipwhere the cause in the
independent while the effect is the
independent.

RELATION TO ALGEBRA
One of Descartes' most enduring legacies was his development of Cartesian or
analytic geometry, which uses algebra to describe geometry. He "invented the convention
of representing unknowns in equations by x, y, and z, and known by a, b, and c". He also
"pioneered the standard notation" that uses superscripts to show the powers or exponents;
for example, the 4 used in x4 to indicate squaring of squaring. He was first to assign a
fundamental place for algebra in our system of knowledge, and believed that algebra was
a method to automate or mechanize reasoning, particularly about abstract, unknown
quantities. European mathematicians had previously viewed geometry as a more
fundamental form of mathematics, serving as the foundation of algebra.
Descartes' work provided the basis for the calculus developed by Newton and
Gottfried Leibniz, who applied infinitesimal calculus to the tangent line problem, thus
permitting the evolution of that branch of modern mathematics. His rule of signs is also a
commonly used method to determine the number of positive and negative roots of a
polynomial.
GOD RENE DESCARTES STUDENTS

Rene Descartes, who is often sick, showed that even if one is a genius enough to
discover things and make a change, weaknesses are still there. He was someone who
came from a family having financial difficulties yet how often do we use his system? It is
truly helpful not just in Algebra but also in Physics and other graph related things. He
grew up having no parents beside him but he did not rebel. He did not see the lack of
presence, good health, money and experience as a hinder. That is why he was able to
formulate the Cartesian coordinate system and contributed a lot to Algebra and Physics.
He does not think of his ideas only as his own, instead he recognizes God as the
giver of his knowledge which he was thankful of. In return, he formulated the three
meditations to prove that God exists. We students also thank God for the knowledge he
has given us and the guidance he has given as we study. Just like Rene, we all struggle to
reach a certain goal.

He was someone who knows the existence of God. In fact, he was known for his
three meditations. e.. Having introduced skeptical doubt into his project, seek to find out
what the ultimate source of his clear and distinct ideas are, so that he can be sure his ideas
are trustworthy, that clearness and distinctness are appropriate criteria for truth. In
Meditation Three, he considers some of the ideas he has, and recognizes that he has
certain ideas which, being of a different kind of objective reality, could not have come
from within himself, or from within himself alone. He identifies his idea of God as the
most salient example, and after importing a few assumptions, quickly proves Gods
existence.
His famous line, I think therefore I am. just proved his belief of God. The keen
reader will see that Descartes proof of Gods existence essentially models the form of his
proof of his own existence. I have an idea of myself; therefore, I exist. For God, it is: I
have an idea of God; therefore, he exists.
 APPLICATION OF ALGEBRA TO OUR NATION

Algebra is the study of operations and their application to solving equations. It

provides structure and a definite direction for economists when they are analyzing
complex data. Quantitative results in science, economics included, are expressed using
algebraic equations.
In economics, theories need the flexibility to formulate and use general structures.
By using algebra, economists are able to develop theories and structures that can be used
with different scenarios regardless of specific quantities.
Philippines can use the Cartesian Coordinate System as a form of graphing like
line graphs etc. It is much easy to determine the improvement of a country by just
judging the line formulated upon entering data in a graph. Statistics are always needed to
be updated and instead of writing numbers, it can be plotted for an easier view.