Descartes
Rene Descartes had a remarkably short working life, yet his contribution to philosophy and physics have endured to this day. He is perhaps best known for his statement, "Cogito, ergo sum," the cornerstone of his metaphysics. Descartes did not intend the metaphysics to stand apart from his scientific work, which included important investigations into physics, mathematics, and optics. In this book, Sorell shows that Descarates was, above all, an advocate and practitioner of the new mathematical...
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Descartes is perhaps best known for his statement, "Cogito, ergo sum," the cornerstone of his metaphysics. But he did not intend the metaphysics to stand apart from his scientific work, which included important investigations into physics, mathematics, and optics. In this book, Sorell shows that Descarates was, above all, an advocate and practitioner of the new mathematical approach to physics, and that he developed his philosophies to support his discoveries in the sciences. Booknews Much previous literature on Descartes treats his dualistic metaphysics as if it were disconnectedin a manner analogous to his problematic mind-body splitfrom his natural philosophy. As part of a series complementing the International Research Library of Philosophy, this volume reflects the trend in recent Descartes studies to affirm the increasing convergence of the history of science and the history of philosophy. While most of the 27 selections collected from 1983-96 readily resonate with standard English language Cartesian commentaries, several translated essays from French and Italian contributors befit Descartes' pivotal role in Western intellectual history. The nine-branched organizing schema includes essays pondering: method; metaphysics and Cartesian metaphysics; meditation and doubt; 'cogito ergo sum'; ideas, truth, and judgement; God; mind and body; matter and motion; and ethics and anthropology. Lacks a subject index. Annotation c. Book News, Inc., Portland, OR (booknews.com)
AcknowledgementsSeries PrefaceIntroductionPt. IMethod1Mathematical Demonstration and Deduction in Descartes's Early Methodological and Scientific Writings32Descartes: Methodological Ideal and Actual Procedure253Descartes, the Aristotelians, and the Revolution that Did Not Happen in 163739Pt. IIMetaphysics and Cartesian Metaphysics4On Descartes' Constitution of Metaphysics575The Crisis of the Cogito71Pt. IIIMeditation and Doubt6Descartes's Meditations as Cognitive Exercises837What is Cartesian Doubt?1018Scientific and Practical Certainty in Descartes131Pt. IVThe Cogito9Cogito Ergo Sum15110Cogito Ergo Quis Est?159Pt. VIdeas, Truth, Judgement11How Can What I Perceive Be True?17912Descartes on the Material Falsity of ideas18913Judgment and Understanding in Descartes's philosophy21514Descartes's Theory of Judgment227Pt. VIGod15The Problem of the Third Meditation23916Descartes on the Creation of the Eternal Truths26317How God Causes Motion: Descartes, Divine sustenance and Occasionalism293Pt. VIIMind and Body18Descartes and the Action of Body on Mind30919Descartes on the Origin of Sensation32320Understanding Interaction: What Descartes should have Told Elisabeth35521Descartes on Mind-Body Interaction and the Conservation of Motion373Pt. VIIIMatter and Motion22Perfect Solidity: Natural Laws and the Problem of matter in Descartes' Universe40323Against Emptiness: Descartes's Physics Metaphysics of Plenitude42124Descartes and the Nature of Body437Pt. IXEthics and Anthropology25The Insufficiency of Descartes' Provisional Morality45526Cartesian Ethics: Reason and the Passions47527Life, Science, and Wisdom According to Descartes499Name Index521
\ BooknewsMuch previous literature on Descartes treats his dualistic metaphysics as if it were disconnected<-->in a manner analogous to his problematic mind-body split<-->from his natural philosophy. As part of a series complementing the International Research Library of Philosophy, this volume reflects the trend in recent Descartes studies to affirm the increasing convergence of the history of science and the history of philosophy. While most of the 27 selections collected from 1983-96 readily resonate with standard English language Cartesian commentaries, several translated essays from French and Italian contributors befit Descartes' pivotal role in Western intellectual history. The nine-branched organizing schema includes essays pondering: method; metaphysics and Cartesian metaphysics; meditation and doubt; 'cogito ergo sum'; ideas, truth, and judgement; God; mind and body; matter and motion; and ethics and anthropology. Lacks a subject index. Annotation c. Book News, Inc., Portland, OR (booknews.com)\ \
