Pronunciation guide

Aquinas

Cartesian

Constantinople

Poitiers

Psychology

Renaissance

E Comprehension

Read the text and decide if the following statements are true or false.

1 Descartes' time was one of major changes. T o F o

2 Descartes aimed to invent a new branch of mathematics and philosophy T o

F o

3 Descartes had not been influenced by earlier philosophers. T o

F o

4 Descartes' ideas often did not meet with the approval of church authorities. T o

F o

5 Descartes' major contribution was to calculus. T o

F o

Before you read

Discuss these questions with your partner.

-» What do you know about calculus?

-» Can you think of a problem calculus could be used to solve?

A Vocabulary

Complete the definitions below with words from the box.

N slope n approximation

N embrace n acceleration

N diverse nindispensable