Carteʹsian Philosophy

The philosophical system of René Descartes (Latin, Carteʹsius), of La Haye, in Touraine. The basis of his system is cogʹito ergo sum. Thought must proceed from soul, and therefore man is not wholly material; that soul must be from some Being not material, and that Being is God. As for physical phenomena, they must be the result of motion excited by God, and these motions he termed vortices. (1596–1650.)

⁂ Of course, he begs the whole question in his first assertion. (See Cogito.)

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Entry taken from Dictionary of Phrase and Fable, edited by the Rev. E. Cobham Brewer, LL.D. and revised in 1895.