In 1618 he settled in the Netherlands, where he would spend the greater part of his life, writing and publishing his best-known works. Descartes believed that the soul and the body are separate entities, and that everything can be explained using reason. As well as regarding animals as ‘automatons’ without feeling, he believed that the human body and the cosmos operated according to mechanical principles. Descartes’s philosophy, Cartesianism, attracted many followers at Dutch universities. His ideas shaped the scientific revolution and laid the foundations for the Enlightenment. Descartes is still seen as one of the most important philosophers in history.
Getting started with the collection: