This sentence is a famous saying of René Descartes borrowed by Goethe, and its English translation is as follows:

The reading of all good books is like a conversation with the finest men of pastecenturies.-Descartes.

In Chinese, it means that all good books are like talking to the most outstanding people in the world in the past.

Extended information:

Descartes is a dualist in philosophy and regards God as the creator. But Descartes was a mechanist in natural science, which was of progressive significance at that time.

Descartes was one of the founders of modern European philosophy, and Hegel called him "the father of modern philosophy". He formed his own system, fused materialism and idealism, and had a far-reaching influence in the history of philosophy.

Descartes' methodology has an important influence on the later development of physics. On the basis of ancient deductive methods, he created a mathematical deductive method: based on rationalism, starting from self-evident intuitive axioms, using mathematical logical deduction to draw conclusions.

This method, combined with experimental induction advocated by Bacon, has become an important method in physics, especially theoretical physics, through the comprehensive application of Huygens and Newton. As one of the most successful examples of his universal method, Descartes used algebra to solve geometric problems and established the foundation of coordinate geometry, that is, analytic geometry.

There are two other points in Descartes' methodology that deserve attention.

firstly, he is good at using intuitive "models" to explain physical phenomena. For example, the "tennis ball" model is used to explain the refraction of light; Use the "walking stick of the blind" to vividly describe the instantaneous transmission of light information along the material; The rainbow phenomenon is simulated and successfully explained by a glass ball filled with water.

second, he advocates the use of hypotheses and hypothetical methods, such as the vortex theory in the theory of cosmic structure. In addition, he also put forward the principle of "universal suspicion". This principle played a great role in opposing church rule, advocating authority, advocating rationality and advocating science under the historical conditions at that time.

Descartes is one of the most influential philosophers and scientists in Europe in the 17th century and beyond, and is known as "the ancestor of modern science".

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