Vision and Perception, 17th Century
Woodcut showing a portion of head with the eyes represented above each other and focused on an arrow; lines extend from the eyes to the mid and terminal points of the arrow; visual receptor portion of the brain is shown, and the sense of smell is indicated by a flower. Appeared in Tractatus de homine, et de formatione foetus by Ren̩ Descartes, 1677. Ren̩ Descartes (March 31, 1596 - February 11, 1650) was a French mathematician, philosopher and physiologist. Living on his modest inherited wealth, Descartes traveled, studied, wrote, and served as a soldier in Holland, Bohemia and Hungary. He created analytical geometry, which translates geometrical problems into algebraic form so that algebraic methods can be applied to their solution. Conversely he applied geometry to algebra. He propounded Cartesian dualism, stating that mind and matter are two distinct substances which can interact. He believed that god is the prime mover of matter, and that everything has a cause. Descartes died in 1650, at the age of 53, soon after becoming tutor to queen Christina of Sweden. The cause of death was said to be pneumonia.
Size: 4500px × 3565px
Photo credit: © Photo Researchers / Alamy / Afripics
License: Licensed
Model Released: No
Keywords: 1677, 17th, art, artwork, body, bw, cartesius, century, descartes, diagram, drawing, external, eye, figure, focus, focusing, historic, historical, history, human, illustration, medical, medicine, ocular, perception, renatus, rene, ren̩, science, sense, sensory, sight, smell, stimuli, vision, visual, woodblock, woodcut
