The Philosophy of Rene Descartes is a difficult subject, but it can be understood clearly and easily if one is careful to pay attention to the essentials. This short summary is designed to help the student grasp the most important features of Descartes' Philosophy in the minimum time. Each main element of his Philosophy is linked to an easy-to-remember aspect of his life.
There are three main points to Descartes' Philosophy:
Desartes was educated by Jesuits, but later experienced a momentous vision as he was sleeping in a stove-heated room. This should help you remember that one of his central concerns was: how do we know we are not DREAMING? Indeed, until the end of his life, Descartes was never convinced that he was actually awake! This kind of a worry about "how do we know?" is called Epistemology.
Throughout his life, Descartes feared persecution by the Church for his radical views. Many people were executed because they thought their views were right, but the Church disagreed. Although racked with doubt, Descartes finally realized that his own personal conviction was the most important test of truth -- if he honestly THOUGHT he was right, he WAS right. Thus, his most famous quotation, "I THINK, THEREFORE I AM."
Here is a link to some more in-depth material about Descartes
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