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Cartesius

Cartesius is the Latin form of René Descartes's surname, the 17th-century French philosopher, mathematician, and scientist. In early modern Latin writings he is commonly cited as Cartesius, Renatus Cartesius, or Cartesius philosophus. This Latin form is the root of the English adjective Cartesian and related terms used to describe Descartes's philosophy and methods, such as Cartesian doubt, the Cartesian coordinate system, and Cartesian dualism.

Origin and usage: Descartes's name was Latinized in scholarly literature as Cartesius, reflecting the broader Latin

Legacy and other uses: Descartes's ideas—rationalism, methodological doubt, analytic geometry—shaped modern science and philosophy. The form

See also: René Descartes; Cartesian; Cartesian coordinate system; Cartesian doubt.

practice
of
rendering
European
names
for
scholarly
citation.
The
Latin
version
appeared
in
biographical
sketches,
commentaries,
and
philosophical
treatises
of
the
period,
and
it
continues
to
appear
in
historical
discussions
of
his
work.
Cartesius
remains
encountered
in
historical
and
philological
contexts
and,
in
some
cases,
has
been
used
as
a
proper
name
for
institutions,
programs,
or
vessels
honoring
Descartes.