Descartes, René
Descartes, René (1596–1650) Together with Immanuel
Kant and David
Hume, the French philosopher René Descartes is one of the founding figures of modern Western philosophy. Descartes also made significant contributions to mathematics and the science of mechanics. He is best known for his
Discourse on Method and
Meditations, two texts in which he employed his method of systematic doubt so as to arrive at some indubitable foundation from which certain knowledge could be deduced. Famously, Descartes discovered he could doubt virtually everything, save that in doubting, and so thinking, he must at least exist. However, the existence thus asserted was not his bodily existence, but rather the existence of the
self as a ‘thinking thing’. Descartes required proof of the existence of God, to restore his confidence in the existence of material bodies, defined by their spatial existence. This metaphysical view of the world as composed of extended material bodies, on the one hand, and souls or minds defined by thought, on the other, is known as
dualism. Descartes himself, and successive dualist philosophers of mind, have experienced great difficulty in accounting coherently for the special connection between mind and body which constitutes the human person.
The influence of body–mind dualism is pervasive throughout the contemporary social sciences (for example, in Max
Weber's distinction between behaviour and meaningful action). The increasingly problematic failure of sociology to deal adequately with either human embodiment or ecological issues is one legacy of this. Psychoanalysis and recent
structuralist approaches in social science, which affect to ‘de-centre’ the human subject, often start out by explicitly rejecting Descartes's assumption of the ‘transparency’ of the self to reflection. Finally, Descartes is now frequently criticized as advocating a view of animals as non-conscious complex machines, thus allegedly excluding animals from direct moral concern, and sustaining an untenable gulf between human and animal nature. The adjective used to refer to Descartes is ‘Cartesian’. See also
METAPHYSICS.
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Excising the 'Mon Paradigm' from Burmese historiography.(Critical essay)
Magazine article from: Journal of Southeast Asian Studies; 6/1/2007; ; 700+ words
; ...Buddhist culture of the Mon people in what is...the interior. The Mons of Lower Burma were...subsequent culture, the 'Mon Paradigm' implies that Mons were the ultimate...direct command), Mon inscriptions; Arabic...later kingdom of the Mons became known, or...
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OFTEN CONQUERED, MON WORK TO SAVE TRADITIONS.(MAIN)
Newspaper article from: Albany Times Union (Albany, NY); 11/9/2003; 700+ words
; ...festival is one of many celebrated by 6,000 Mon people whose hillside home has proved a...Within Myanmar itself, about a million Mon live on uneasy terms with the junta that in 1995 negotiated a cease-fire with Mon insurgents. ``People were tired after...
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E-Mon's New "Green Class" Submeters Are Ideal for LEED Certification Points and Other "Green Building" Initiatives.
Business Wire; 8/13/2007; 700+ words
; ...Emissions, Based on Current Load LANGHORNE, Pa. -- E-Mon, the electric submetering market leader and manufacturer of the widely installed E-Mon D-Mon[R] product line, today announced its new "Green Class...
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Mon Valley Initiative to Hold Ninth Annual Spring Conference: 'Recipe for Development' Theme to Focus on Job Creation in the Mon Valley
PR Newswire; 5/9/1997; 700+ words
; ...PITTSBURGH, May 9 /PRNewswire/ -- The Mon Valley Initiative's (MVI) 1997 Spring...what can be done to create more jobs in the Mon Valley region of Western Pennsylvania...Workforce Development Project; and the Mon Valley Industrial Workshop (MVIW); Clairton...
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E-Mon, LLC Announces Reseller Agreement With Tridium, Inc.
Business Wire; 10/26/2007; 700+ words
; E-Mon to Incorporate Tridium's Niagara(AX[R...Integrator Markets LANGHORNE, Pa. -- E-Mon, the electric submetering market leader and manufacturer of the widely installed E-Mon D-Mon[R] product line, today announced...
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E-MON Strengthens Data for Energy Control Systems; - Facilities Save Additional Costs With Pro-MON Meters -.
PR Newswire; 9/17/2003; 700+ words
; ...Penn., Sept. 17 /PRNewswire/ -- E-MON, L.P., the industry leader in energy...today announced the availability of Pro-MON(TM) meters that provide both real-time...collect basic energy data, while the Pro-MON meters leverage E-MON's more than 20...
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The Mons. A Civilization of Southeast Asia.(Book Review)
Magazine article from: Asian Perspectives: the Journal of Archaeology for Asia and the Pacific; 3/22/2002; ; 700+ words
; ...from truth to state that the Mons have received relatively little...by writing the history of the Mons. In fact, both the author's reputation as a leading scholar of Mon language, and the format of...Guillon approaches the phenomenon "Mon" by describing the components...
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E-Mon Awarded GSA's Federal Supply Schedule Contract; Federal Energy Managers Now Approved to Purchase Advanced Metering Technology.
PR Newswire; 4/20/2004; 700+ words
; ...Pa., April 20 /PRNewswire/ -- E-Mon, L.P., the industry leader in energy...for its advanced metering products. E-Mon is the first full-service submetering...means of controlling energy costs." E-Mon already has assisted many federal facility...
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Mon Valley Works wins highest honor in maintenance. (U.S. Steel Group's Mon Valley Works; 1995 North American Maintenance Excellence Award)(includes related articles)
Magazine article from: Plant Engineering; 2/1/1996; ; 700+ words
; ...memories. But here, too, U.S. Steel's Mon Valley Works rises like a Phoenix, a reborn...Once again a world-class producer, the Mon Valley Works has not only survived, it...success of Big Steel Present and Future in Mon Valley. This awareness, coupled with the...
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Submetering Leader E-MON Corp. Acquired by Hunt Power L.P.; Acquisition Gives E-MON Additional Resources to Develop New Products, Pursue New Markets.
Business Wire; 2/7/2002; 700+ words
; ...BUSINESS WIRE)--Feb. 7, 2002 E-MON Corp., a leading manufacturer of electric...acquired by Hunt Power L.P. of Dallas. E-MON's well-developed, end-user market...independent sales representative agencies, E-MON's extensive national network is the most...
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Mon
Encyclopedia entry from: Encyclopedia of World Cultures
Mon In 1983 the Mon (Mun, Peguan, Talaing, Taleng) numbered about 835,000 in Myanmar...in Myanmar alone. If these figures are accurate, they suggest that the Mon population has nearly doubled since the 1930s. The Mon have evidently...
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Hiroshima Mon Amour
Dictionary entry from: International Dictionary of Films and Filmmakers
HIROSHIMA MON AMOUR France-Japan, 1959 Director: Alain Resnais Production...Publications Script: Duras, Marguerite, Hiroshima mon amour, Paris, 1959; translated as Hiroshima, Mon Amour, New York, 1961; London, 1966. Books: Cordier...
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Louis Hémon
Encyclopedia entry from: Encyclopedia of World Biography
Louis H é mon Louis H é mon (1880-1913) was a French novelist best known for his "Maria...novels by native Canadians. Born in Brest, Louis H é mon was educated in Paris, where his father was an inspector general...
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Monégasques
Encyclopedia entry from: Junior Worldmark Encyclopedia of World Cultures
Mon é gasques PRONUNCIATION: mah-neh...000 LANGUAGE: French; Italian; English; Mon é gasque RELIGION: Roman Catholicism...entirely urban. The people of Monaco are called Mon é gasques. Of Monaco's estimated...
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Olympus Mons
Book article from: A Dictionary of Astronomy
Olympus Mons The largest volcano in the Solar System...as Nix Olympica. The summit of Olympus Mons is 21 km above the mean surface...surrounds the volcano. The diameter of Olympus Mons at the scarp is about 650 km...
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