kartéziai

Kartéziai refers to something related to René Descartes, a highly influential 17th-century French philosopher, mathematician, and scientist. His work is fundamental to modern philosophy and mathematics.

The term is most commonly associated with Cartesian coordinates, a system that uses numbers to locate points on a plane or in space. This system, developed by Descartes, involves two perpendicular axes, the x-axis and the y-axis, intersecting at the origin. Any point can be uniquely identified by an ordered pair of numbers (x, y), representing its distance along the x-axis and y-axis respectively. This mathematical innovation revolutionized geometry, allowing for algebraic methods to be applied to geometric problems, a field known as analytic geometry.

In philosophy, "kartéziai" can refer to Cartesian dualism, the philosophical position that the mind and body are distinct and separable entities. Descartes argued that the mind (res cogitans, or thinking substance) is non-physical, while the body (res extensa, or extended substance) is physical. This concept has had a profound and lasting impact on discussions about consciousness, the nature of reality, and the mind-body problem.

The Cartesian method of doubt, also known as methodological skepticism, is another key aspect. Descartes sought to establish a firm foundation for knowledge by systematically doubting everything that could be doubted, ultimately arriving at his famous conclusion, "Cogito, ergo sum" (I think, therefore I am). This rigorous approach to epistemology influenced subsequent philosophical thought.