DESCARTES - THE SEARCH

<BODY> <CENTER><FONT SIZE=5><B><FONT SIZE=6>DESCARTES</FONT><BR> THE RATIONALIST</B></FONT></CENTER><P> <FONT SIZE=4><B>The Search for Truth</B></FONT><P> <FONT SIZE=4><B>REVELATION</B></FONT><BR> Descartes' interest in mathematics was rekindled by a friend, a Dutch scientist and philosopher, Isaac Beekman, He became so excited at discovering "four remarkable and completely new proofs", he wrote to his friend explaining his hopes to set all mathematics in order. His hopes become even more ambitious when his "vocation" is revealed to him in a dream. He will devote the rest of his life to establishing a single science, uniting all the sciences and philosophy into a systematic totality.<P> <CENTER><IMG SRC="1103a.jpg" WIDTH="240" HEIGHT="200"></CENTER><P> <FONT SIZE=4><B>REVOLUTION</B></FONT><BR> Descartes became a true child of the scientific revolution. There is no aspect of science that does not explore. He is fascinated by light and is the first to discover the true nature of rainbows. He dissects different animals - eyes to understand light perception, heads in an attempt to explain the make-up of imagination and memory. He promotes technology calling for "the invention of an infinity of devices".<P> Still, his ultimate love remains mathematics. He formulates the ideal of a universal mathematics and invents analytical geometry. Only the mathematicians, he claims, have been able to succeed in producing reasons which are evident and certain. His philosophy will follow its pattern of reasoning in its search for certainty. <BR clear=left><BR> <HR width=100%> <A HREF="http://www.creatorix.com.au"><IMG SRC="../creatorix.gif" WIDTH="85" HEIGHT="40" BORDER="0" ALT="Creatorix" align=right></A> </BODY>