Born in La Haye, France, later renamed Descartes in honor of his irrefutable groundbreaking work, René Descartes (see Figure 1) was an innovative thinker, often nicknamed the father of modern philosophy. Having lived to the age of 53 (1596-1650), relatively short compared to current times, Descartes certainly made the best of his five decades on this earth. He was educated at the auspicious Jesuit college of La Flèche, where he studied traditional Aristotelian philosophy among other various subjects. After graduating from La Flèche he moved from Anjou to Paris to attend the University of Poitiers, where he obtained a law degree (CUP, 2013). After his expedition with a formal education, Descartes joined the imperial armies during the early stages of what is now called the Thirty Years' War. In 1621 he managed to retreat before the war worsened, but before doing so he had the great honor of being part of the winning side at the Battle of Prague (Flew, 1971, p. 177-178). After retiring from the army ranks, he found himself trapped in Germany due to being unable to travel due to bad winter weather. It was there that, while locked in a room with nothing and no one to distract him, he began the deep reflection necessary to later write, in 1637, his essay entitled Discourse. In this essay he states: “My project has never extended beyond the attempt to reform my opinions and to build on a foundation which is entirely my own (Descartes, 1931, part I).” This implies that the first essay he published – which would later prove to be a groundbreaking work on such topics as the most effective ways to approach philosophy – was entirely for himself; to explain himself, and not affect ... middle of the paper ... philosopher, mathematician and scientist, and drastically revolutionized all three of these areas, influencing their modern state to the present day. Intellectuals like René Descartes are certainly a rare commodity, and will surely be praised and studied for centuries to come, as Aristotle and Plato were. Works Cited Columbia University Press [CUP] (2013). René Descartes. Columbia Electronic Encyclopedia, Sixth Edition. Vancouver, BC: Columbia University Press.Craig, E. (2012). René Descartes. Biographies of Britannica. Vancouver, BC: Insomniac Press Descartes, René. (1931). Philosophical works. Cambridge, England: CUPFlew, Anthony. (1971). An introduction to Western philosophy: ideas and arguments from Plato to Sartre. London, England: Thames and Hudson.Harpur, Patrick. (2002). The secret fire of philosophers. London, England: Penguin Books.