Rene Descartes was a French philosopher and mathematician who was one of the most influential thinkers of the Scientific Revolution. He is most famous for saying, "Cogito ergo sum" (I think, therefore I am). These slides were created to accompany a brief lecture introducing Descartes and his philosophy. Check out the e-lecture on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l04HlEP-N60