| Bacon, Galileo and Descartes rejected the preternatural je ne sais quoi in favour of a scientific examination of nature. |
| His arithmetic books were used by many mathematicians including Leibniz and Descartes. |
| However, as he studied the mechanical philosophy of Descartes he became unhappy with it. |
| He made a major impression on Descartes with both his scientific and Rosicrucian beliefs and influenced his thinking. |
| Some commentators have thought that Descartes is committed to a species of Platonic realism. |
| It might therefore seem clear, whatever else is the case, that Descartes conceives of knowledge as advancing truth. |
