Rue Descartes, Amboise.

René Descartes, as the street sign says, was a philosopher, mathematician and physicist. He is remembered for many reasons not least among them for saying: ‘I think, therefore I am’ (cogito, ergo sum). Known as The Father of Modern Philosophy, his writings are still in vogue. He is also famous for stating that the mind is separate from the body. He identified the mind with consciousness and self-awareness separated from the physical brain. This is known now as Cartesian Dualism. Humans have a mind (non-physical) and body/brain (physical). The mind and body are separate. It was Descartes who made the connection between geometry and algebra to solve geometrical problems with algebraic equations.