The
Discourse on the Method is a
philosophical and
autobiographical treatise published by
René Descartes in 1637. Its full name is
Discourse on the Method of Rightly Conducting One's Reason and of Seeking Truth in the Sciences (French title:
Discours de la méthode pour bien conduire sa raison, et chercher la vérité dans les sciences). The
Discourse on The Method is best known as the source of the famous
quotation "
Je pense, donc je suis" ("
I think, therefore I am"), which occurs in Part IV of the work. (The similar statement in Latin,
Cogito ergo sum, is found in Part I, §7 of
Principles of Philosophy.)