Descartes' most widely read work is his Discourse on Method (in French, "Discours de la methode"), published in 1637. There Descartes sets forth four rules for discovering knowledge: (1) accept as true only what can be proven, (2) solve problems in a systematic manner, part-by-part, (3) proceed from simple to more complex issues, and (4) finally, review everything completely to ensure that nothing was left out. | Descartes' most widely read work is his Discourse on Method (in French, "Discours de la methode"), published in 1637. There Descartes sets forth four rules for discovering knowledge: (1) accept as true only what can be proven, (2) solve problems in a systematic manner, part-by-part, (3) proceed from simple to more complex issues, and (4) finally, review everything completely to ensure that nothing was left out. |