RenÉ Descartes’ life
Ms. Berolini
December 11, 2014
Objectives
• 1) Students will be able to identify the major personal
events that shaped Descartes’ Life by completing the
handout that accompanies the PowerPoint.
• 2) Students will be able to recall key facts about the
Scientific Revolution by participating in the group
work and carousel activities.
Guiding Question
• What were the major personal and historical events
and ideas that shaped Descartes’ life?
RenÉ Descartes
1596-1650
Early Life
• Born in France in 1596 to
middle class parents
• His mother died soon after
his birth and he and his
siblings went to live with
their maternal grandmother
• He was prone to sickness as
a child
Schooling
• Began attending Jesuit
college at La Fleche when
he was around eight years
old
• Received a liberal arts
education and took classes
in: rhetoric, grammar,
mathematics, and
philosophy
• Obtained a degree from the
University of Poiters
Jesuit College at La Fleche
Travels
• 1618 Descartes volunteered to join the army of Maurice of
Nassau and traveled to the Netherlands
• Meets Isaac Beekman revives Descartes’ interest in math and
science
• 1620 during his travels Descartes’ had a series of dreams
that motivated him to find a new method for scientific
discovery
• 1629 began writing various scientific, mathematical, and
philosophical works in Sweden
• Corresponded with notable figures including Princess
Elizabeth of Bohemia and Queen Christina of Sweden
Meditations on first
Philosophy
• The first edition was
published in 1641 and a
second edition was
published in 1642
• Some Christian thinkers
accused his writings of
unorthodoxy
• Descartes published letters
to counter these accusations
The Scientific
Revolution
• Descartes was greatly influenced by the thought associated
with the Scientific Revolution and contributed to the
movement himself
• Major Figures and Developments:
• 1550-1700
• Depart from Aristotelian Thought and the Geocentric Model
• Copernicus
• Heliocentric Model
• Galileo
• Kepler
• Newton
Questions?
Group-Work
Instructions
Students will engage in group-work to research the Scientific-Revolution that occurred
during Descartes’ time and to which he contributed.
The teacher will divide the class into groups of four students assigning each student to a
specific group.
Students will use their textbooks and other handouts provided by the teacher to work
together to outline the Scientific Revolution considering the questions
1.
What were the main facts that characterized the Scientific Revolution?
2.
Why was the Scientific Revolution important?
Groups will write their responses on a large piece of paper provided by the teacher and all
students should contribute to the outline. Groups are expected to work quietly and
productively.
After creating the outlines, the groups will rotate in a clockwise fashion to view other
groups’ outlines. While reading the other groups’ outlines, students will write feedback on
the other groups’ outlines and note facts they found to be important or interesting. The
teacher will instruct the students as to when they should rotate and each group will spend 2
minutes looking at the outline of another group. Students are expected to leave respectful
and appropriate responses on other groups’ papers.
Questions?