title: Cartesian
text: # Cartesian
  
  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
  