René Descartes (1596-1650) was one of the foremost figures in philosophy and mathematics; responsible for his interactive dualistic theory of mind-body relationships, his proof of his own existence ("Cogito, ergo sum), his work in optics, and his discovery of analytic geometry. He was, in many ways, the Renaissance man of his time.
He also had a little secret: he had a fetish for cross-eyed girls. He admitted to as much in one of his philosophical works: when he was young, he was in love with a Madamoiselle who possessed such a feature. As he got older, he maintained a generalized preference for cross-eyed girls. Interestingly, he found that his development of awareness of his prediliction's origins helped him to stop having it.
Too bad for 17th-century cross-eyed chicks.
Given the way he looked, I'm sure those 17th century cross-eyed chicks could live with that!
ReplyDeleteQueen Christina of Sweden had a thing for him, too.
ReplyDeleteMany years ago, when I was in high school, I had my Humanities class, taught by Mrs Penny Smith, after my Civics class, taught by Mr Richard Horst. When the Humanities class reached study of European philosophers, I asked if I could change my schedule so that I could put Descartes before the Horst. And you might be interested in the book "Descartes' Bones" by Russell Sholto.
ReplyDeleteDuckbutt, Descartes had to give her philosophy lessons at 6 A.M., in Stockholm! Rough on an early riser!
ReplyDeleteBilbo, that was a delicious pun! And I will look for that book/