̷ ̷ˈ ̷ ̷ ̷ ̷ˌnizəm noun
Usage: usually capitalized
Etymology: Cartesian (I) + -ism
: the philosophy of René Descartes and his followers deriving its chief significance from its reaction to scholastic subtleties, its utilization of radical doubt and of the postulate of cogito as its starting point, its proclamation of mathematical certitude as an ideal in metaphysical demonstration, and its dualistic distinction between thought and extension or mind and matter