Cartesian means of or relating to the French philosopher René Descartes—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

See also

  • Cart (disambiguation)
  • Carte (disambiguation)
  • Cartes (disambiguation)
  • Descartes (disambiguation)