Johannes de Raey (also: ''Raei'') (

Wageningen Wageningen () is a municipality and a historic city in the central Netherlands, in the province of Gelderland. It is famous for Wageningen University, which specialises in life sciences. The municipality had a population of in , of which many t ...

, 1622 –

Amsterdam Amsterdam ( , , , lit. ''The Dam on the River Amstel'') is the Capital of the Netherlands, capital and Municipalities of the Netherlands, most populous city of the Netherlands, with The Hague being the seat of government. It has a population ...

, 1702) was a Dutch

philosopher A philosopher is a person who practices or investigates philosophy. The term ''philosopher'' comes from the grc, φιλόσοφος, , translit=philosophos, meaning 'lover of wisdom'. The coining of the term has been attributed to the Greek th ...

and an early

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 ...

Early life and education

De Raey was born in 1622 in the Dutch town of Wageningen as son to Jan Jansz van Ray and Hendersken van Lennep. In 1645 he married his cousin Cunera van Lennep. He died in Amsterdam on 30 November 1702. De Raey studied in

Utrecht Utrecht ( , , ) is the List of cities in the Netherlands by province, fourth-largest city and a List of municipalities of the Netherlands, municipality of the Netherlands, capital and most populous city of the Provinces of the Netherlands, pro ...

with

Henricus Regius Henricus Regius (; July 29, 1598 – February 19, 1679) was a Dutch philosopher, physician, and professor of medicine at the University of Utrecht from 1638. Biography Regius was born in Utrecht (city), Utrecht, and was also known by his birth na ...

and from 1643 at the university of

Leiden Leiden (; in English and archaic Dutch also Leyden) is a city and municipality in the province of South Holland, Netherlands. The municipality of Leiden has a population of 119,713, but the city forms one densely connected agglomeration wit ...

. He read

philosophy Philosophy (from , ) is the systematized study of general and fundamental questions, such as those about existence, reason, knowledge, values, mind, and language. Such questions are often posed as problems to be studied or resolved. Some ...

with Prof.

Adriaan Heereboord Adriaan Heereboord (13 October 1613 in Leiden – 7 July 1661 in Leiden) was a Dutch philosopher and logician. Life He was born in Leiden and graduated from the University of Leiden, where he had the chair of philosophy from 1643. :de:s:ADB:Heereb ...

and on 16 July 1647 obtained his doctorate in medicine with Adolphus Vorstius. The previous day he had obtained the title of

magister artium A Master of Arts ( la, Magister Artium or ''Artium Magister''; abbreviated MA, M.A., AM, or A.M.) is the holder of a master's degree awarded by universities in many countries. The degree is usually contrasted with that of Master of Science. Tho ...

Career

From 1653 to 1668 De Raey was professor of philosophy in Leiden. He made such an excellent name for himself, that the Athenaeum Illustre in 1668 offered him a professorate in

. His salary there was 3000 guilders per year, making him the best paid Amsterdam professor of his time. In Leiden De Raey lectured in medicine as well, and in Amsterdam in physics. As a medical doctor, he was very interested in

anatomy Anatomy () is the branch of biology concerned with the study of the structure of organisms and their parts. Anatomy is a branch of natural science that deals with the structural organization of living things. It is an old science, having its ...

. In Amsterdam he became a member of the informal society "Collegium privatum Amstelodamense", of which the members (among whom were

Jan Swammerdam Jan Swammerdam (February 12, 1637 – February 17, 1680) was a Dutch biologist and microscopist. His work on insects demonstrated that the various phases during the life of an insect—egg, larva, pupa, and adult—are different forms of the ...

and

Gerard Blasius Gerard "Gerrit" Leendertszoon Blasius (1627–1682) was a Dutch physician and anatomist. He was born in Amsterdam and was the eldest son of Leonard Blasius (died 1644), who had worked as an architect in Copenhagen. Gerard started his studies th ...

) practised the comparative anatomical research of man and animal.

Philosophy

De Raey was a dedicated follower of

René Descartes René Descartes ( or ; ; Latinized: Renatus Cartesius; 31 March 1596 – 11 February 1650) was a French philosopher, scientist, and mathematician, widely considered a seminal figure in the emergence of modern philosophy and science. Mathem ...

, whom he knew personally, and who called him the best teacher of his doctrines. Yet De Raey did not entirely discount

Aristotle Aristotle (; grc-gre, Ἀριστοτέλης ''Aristotélēs'', ; 384–322 BC) was a Greek philosopher and polymath during the Classical period in Ancient Greece. Taught by Plato, he was the founder of the Peripatetic school of phil ...

, but rather regarded Descartes as the one who completed Aristotle's ideas. Through his lectures and publications De Raey became one of the pioneers of the cartesian doctrine, influencing among others

Leibniz Gottfried Wilhelm (von) Leibniz . ( – 14 November 1716) was a German polymath active as a mathematician, philosopher, scientist and diplomat. He is one of the most prominent figures in both the history of philosophy and the history of mathema ...

. But since in those days Descartes's ideas were too radical for many, De Raey moderated them somewhat and stated that the writings of Descartes were not entirely opposed to aristotelian philosophy. De Raey felt that philosophy depended wholly on reason, and was detached from sensory perception and taught knowledge.

Doubt Doubt is a mental state in which the mind remains suspended between two or more contradictory propositions, unable to be certain of any of them. Doubt on an emotional level is indecision between belief and disbelief. It may involve uncertainty, ...

was the foundation of true philosophy. According to De Raey philosophy had nothing to do with daily life and

theology Theology is the systematic study of the nature of the divine and, more broadly, of religious belief. It is taught as an academic discipline, typically in universities and seminaries. It occupies itself with the unique content of analyzing the ...

. The importance of De Raey for philosophy lies in the fact that he propagated Descartes's ideas, a.o. by smoothing the edges.

Publications

* “Clavis philosophiae naturalis, seu introductio ad contemplationem naturae Aristotelico-Cartesiana”, Leiden 1654, his most influential work. * “Disputationes physicae ad problemata Aristotelis”, Leiden 1651-1652. * “De sapientia veterum”, Amsterdam 1669. * He edited in Amsterdam in 1668 “Renati Descartes epistolae”, translated by

Jan Hendriksz Glazemaker Jan Hendriksz Glazemaker (1619/20–1682) was a Dutch translator of almost 70 books, mostly from Latin and from French. Glazemaker probably lived and worked in Amsterdam, where most of his translations were published. He may have been the first per ...

References

* Peter Jan Knegtmans: "Professoren van de stad. Het Athenaeum Illustre en de Universiteit van Amsterdam 1632-1960", 2007. * Henri A. Krop, J.A. van Ruler, Arie Johan Vanderjagt: "Zeer kundige professoren", 1997. * {{DEFAULTSORT:Raey, Johannes de 1622 births 1702 deaths Dutch academics 17th-century Dutch philosophers People from Wageningen Utrecht University alumni Leiden University alumni Leiden University faculty Date of death unknown Date of birth unknown History of Wageningen