René Descartes was born on March 31, 1596 in Touraine, France. He was trained by Jesuits in La Flè, and moved to Paris. His primary interest was in mathematics, though he studied law in Poitiers and may have earned a law degree. In 1617 he set out for Holland and spent time in the Dutch army. After more than a decade of wandering around Europe, he returned to Holland.

During his life, Descartes made serious contributions to the fields of mathematics, natural philosophy, and optics. His paternal ancestors had been physicians, and Descartes was also extremely interested in medicine. His mathematical contributions seem to have been primarily in the area of analytical geometry.

During his stay in Holland, Descartes undertook a treatise entitled Le Monde. He abandoned this work when it became apparent that by publishing it he would incur the wrath of the Church. In 1637, in Leyden, he published Discours de la méthode pour bien conduire sa raison et chercher la vérité dans les sciences, followed in 1641 by the Meditationes, from which this selection is taken.

In this selection, Descartes elaborates the mind/body duality for which he is remembered, and formulates the phrase "cogito ergo sum" (I think, therefore I am). Descartes wrote in Latin but was quickly translated into French.