Jacques Derrida
Jacques Derrida (1930), French philosopher and literary critic. Born in Algeria, he studied philosophy at the Ecole Normale Superieure and at Harvard. He is the originator of the complex theory known as de-construction, which regards all literary and philosophical texts as undermined by their own contradictions. These ideas, expounded in such books as Of Grammatology and Writing and Difference (both 1967), have become highly influential, although some have criticized them as obscure and nihilistic. Later publications include Ghosts of Marx (1993). Derrida has taught widely in France and the US. Descartes, Rene (1596-1650). French mathematician and philosopher. His philosophy is founded upon the only certainties he could find – his own existence (“I think, therefore I am”) and the existence of God. His mathematical achievements include the invention of coordinate geometry. In 1649 Descartes visited the Swedish court, where Queen Christina insisted on having mathematics lessons from him at five o’clock each morning. He contracted pneumonia as a result and died the following year.
