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Who invented analytic geometry and was the first philosopher to describe the physical universe in terms of matter and motion?

1) Isaac Newton
2) Rene Descartes
3) Albert Einstein
4) Galileo Galilei

User CollinD
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1 Answer

3 votes

Final answer:

Rene Descartes invented analytic geometry and was the first to describe the universe in terms of matter and motion, which laid the groundwork for the scientific revolution that Isaac Newton would later advance with his laws of motion and universal gravitation.

So option (2) is the correct answer.

Step-by-step explanation:

The inventor of analytic geometry and the first philosopher to describe the physical universe in terms of matter and motion was Rene Descartes. While Isaac Newton is famed for his laws of motion and the universal law of gravitation, as well as for contributing to the development of calculus, it was Descartes who introduced the fundamental principles of analytic geometry. This mathematical discipline combined algebra with geometry and provided a new, algebraic means to describe geometric figures. These innovations laid the groundwork for the modern scientific approach to understanding the universe.

Descartes's philosophy regarding the mechanistic view of the universe paved the way for further scientific inquiry where mathematical principles could be applied to the physical world. This was in contrast to prior conceptions that had often been based on Aristotelian philosophy. However, it is important to note that both Descartes and Newton made significant contributions to our understanding of motion and the universe, albeit at different times and through different means.

User Gundrabur
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