Cartesian

Cartesian means of or relating to the French philosopher René Descartes&mdash;from his Latinized name Cartesius. It may refer to:

Mathematics

 * Cartesian closed category, a closed category in category theory
 * Cartesian coordinate system, modern rectangular coordinate system
 * Cartesian diagram, a construction in category theory
 * Cartesian geometry, now more commonly called analytic geometry
 * Cartesian morphism, formalisation of pull-back operation in category theory
 * Cartesian oval, a curve
 * Cartesian product, a direct product of two sets
 * Cartesian product of graphs, a binary operation on graphs
 * Cartesian tree, a binary tree in computer science

Philosophy

 * Cartesian anxiety, a hope that studying the world will give us unchangeable knowledge of ourselves and the world
 * Cartesian circle, a potential mistake in reasoning
 * Cartesian doubt, a form of methodical skepticism as a basis for philosophical rigor
 * Cartesian dualism, the philosophy of the distinction between mind and body
 * Cartesianism, the philosophy of René Descartes
 * Cartesianists, followers of Cartesianism
 * Cartesian Meditations, a work by Edmund Husserl
 * Cartesian linguistics, a work by Noam Chomsky
 * Cartesian theatre, a derisive view of Cartesian dualism coined by Daniel Dennett

Science

 * Cartesian diver, a science experiment demonstrating buoyancy and the ideal gas law
 * Cartesian physics, attempts to explain gravity without a need for action at distance