Introduction René Descartes (1596-1650) was a mathematician, scientist, and philosopher. Published in 1641, his Meditations on First Philosophy is one of the most influential works of philosophy ever written. Descartes aims to place philosophical knowledge on absolutely secure foundations. To do this he looks for a starting point which can be known beyond all doubt. Evidence from our senses sometimes mislead us, so they cannot be used a secure foundation of knowledge. In fact, it seems like it is possible to doubt almost all our knowledge. However, Descartes believes there …