Book Description
A solid grasp of the main themes and arguments of the seventeenth century philosopher Rene Descartes is an essential tool towards understanding modern thought, and a necessary entree to the work of the empiricists and Immanuel Kant, and to the study of contemporary epistemology and philosophy of mind.Clear and accessible, this new book serves as an introduction to Descartes's ideas for undergraduates and as a sophisticated companion to his Meditations for more advanced readers. After a thorough discussion of the main themes and arguments of the Meditations, the historical background of the work, and its critical reception, the author offers his own reflections on Cartesian doubt, the cogito, the causal and ontological proofs of God's existence, the Cartesian circle, Cartesian dualism, and Descartes' views of the material world.The commentary includes and cross-references the full text of Meditations I, II, and V, and most of Meditations III and VI, employing John Cottingham's highly-praised translation. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (3)

An accessible introduction to Descartes.Clearly written.
Dicker's introduction to Descartes is clearly written and easily accessible to new students of Descartes.Although it's not substitute for a thorough inquiry into Descartes' philosophy, Dicker's book is a necessaryread for new students.See his book on Hume as well.

Captivating yet overly simplified
I was one of the many lucky enough not only to read this book but have the text analyzed in a classroom setting by the author himself. In this text Dr. Dicker displays his extensive knolwedge of the subject at hand. Yet indoing so he shows a tendancy to over analyze Descartes meditationseventually making anything beyond the original text segments very laboriousreading, although I would recomend the book for the purpose it was intendedfor in my case; a very methodical introduction to basic philosophy.

captivating, genius, and circumlucative
While the genius of Descartes is always eminant, a foreign, or should I say highly specialize text transcribes even the most basic of concepts.I would definately recommend this book to any graduate or anyone who one day hopes to become a graduade student in philosophy. ... Read more

Book Description

Book Description
The reader who approaches Descartes's first work "Cartesianly," that is, epistemologically, is faced with an insurmountable difficulty: the Regulae ad Directionem Ingenii is virtually incomprehensible in Cartesian terms. Indeed, Descartes himself appears to have disowned the work, after having put it aside, never to be completed. In this groundbreaking study, first published in 1975 to accompany an Index to the Regulae published in 1976 and a new French translation published in 1977, Jean-Luc Marion argues that the key to understanding the text - and the genesis of Cartesianism - is to read it as a dialogue with Aristotle. Descartes's Rules for the Direction of the Mind becomes intelligible when the precise correspondence between its themes and various Aristotelian texts concerning science and being is established.

By situating Descartes within the history of the discourse on being, Marion brings into relief the grey ontology that lies at the origins of Cartesian science. Grey because it is never made explicit; grey because its "objects" are the impoverished shadows of Aristotelian "things"; grey because it never takes the full measure of itself. Within this history, then, the Regulae inaugurates a new era, where Descartes's own metaphysics and his conception of the divine become profoundly ambivalent.

In revealing the origins and presuppositions of Cartesian science, Descartes's Grey Ontology reveals us - we moderns - to ourselves. At the same time, it is an introduction to contemporary Cartesian scholarship in France, revitalized since its publication, and it is an introduction to the thought of one of France's premier philosophers, whose oeuvre brings together the history of philosophy, phenomenology, and theology. A number of Marion's works have already been translated into English, many of them billed as an introduction to his thought. But this work of Cartesian scholarship, Marion's Ph.D. dissertation, provides the reader with a window into the genesis of that thought. This translation reproduces the third edition of the French original. Between 1975 and the third edition, Marion's rethinking of the consequences of Descartes's grey ontology produced Sur la théologie blanche de Descartes (forthcoming from St. Augustine's Press). ... Read more

Book Description
For a number of years,those interested in recovering women's thought have known about Princess Elisabeth,a seventeenth-century correspondent and friend of Descartes whose questions provoked the philosopher to think more seriously about ethics and the passions. Up to now,only a few of her letters have found their way into print. This volume includes translations of all of Elisabeth's extant letters to Descartes,as well as of other materials relevant to understanding her philosophical perspective and her life. Nye has supplemented the translations with a running commentary on the historical,biographical,and intellectual context of the letters. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (2)

If only she would have included the rest of the letters!
I was so taken with the portions of the letters translated and available for the first time in English, that I wasn't particularly bothered by the perspective.It was actually quite thought provoking.
One wishes the complete texts of the letters would have been included.After all, why not?Then readers could find things that interested them, that may have not interested the author.In particular, one feels that Elisabeth's status as a Reformed Protestant could have been explored more.

Garbage
Throughout this book one may find translations of important letters between Descartes and Princess Elizabeth that are otherwise unavailable in English.This is, however, the book's only merit.The"commentary" on the letters reduces Elizabeth's often insightfulobjections to concerns about suitors who only care to (actual quote fromthe book) "get into her pants."Conjectures about an affairbetween Elizabeth and Descartes, generalizations about the trials andtribulations of court life and pure incompetence regarding all substantivepoints raised in the correspondence pervade the entire work.An absoluteinsult. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (1)

After you've read Descartes, turn here.
What a pity this book is out of print. Kenny's book on Descartes does not take the reader as far into the deeps of philosophy as Bernard Williams, and the book is not up to date. But Kenny is an intelligent philosopher and, furthermore, he is one of the best writers of philosophical prose. Undergraduates, who have just read some of Descartes' own work can read Kenny, understand the issues that he raises and, very often, they will come away with some idea of where they disagree with Kenny. This is an excellent book for teaching students, by example, how to respond intelligently to the thoughts of a great philosopher. ... Read more

Book Description
This volume offers Descartes's essential writings and selections from his lesser known works, along with important selections from his philosophical correspondence.The result is an anthology that provides the reader not only with an invaluable collection of Descartes's writings but also with an understanding of the development of his thought over his lifetime.TABLE OF CONTENTS:General Introduction.Bibliography.Time Line. I. Early Works and Correspondence (1618-1637): Preliminaries and Observations; Rules for the Direction of the Mind [1-13]; To Mersenne, On the Eternal Truths; The World and Man [chs. 1-7]; To Mersenne, About Galileo's Condemnation.

II. Discourse on Method (1637).

III. Correspondence (1637-1641): To Silhon, Existence of God and the Soul; To Plempius for Fromondus, Atomism and Mechanism; To Vatier, On the Discourse; To Regius, Knowledge of the Infinite; To Colvius, On Augustine and the Cogito; To Mersenne, Immortality of the Soul; To Mersenne, The Aim of the Meditations and the Context for the Principles; To Mersenne, On J. B. Morin's Proof for the Existence of God.

IV. Meditations on First Philosophy (1641).

V. Objections by Some Learned Men to the preceeding Meditations, with Replies by the Author (1641) [selected].

VI. Correspondence (1641-1644): To Mersenne, Idea Defined and Discussed; To Giebieuf, Ideas and Abstraction; To Buitendijck, Possibility of Doubting God's Existence; To Elisabeth, Primitive Notions; To Mesland, On Freedom.

VII. Principles of Philosophy (1644-1647).

VIII. Late Works and Correspondence (1645 and later): To Mesland, On Freedom; To Clerselier, Concerning Principles; To Newcastle, About Animals; To Chanut, On Nicolas of Cusa and the Infinite; Notes against a Program (1648); To More, Replies to Objections; Passions of the Soul (1649)[selected]; Search After Truth.Index. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (2)

The Best Introductory Edition of Descartes' Writings
Roger Ariew and Hackett Publishing have brought out a terrific edition of Descartes' writings, superior to the one published by Cambridge University Press for several reasons. First, the typeface in the Cambridge edition is not very clear--it almost looks like the pages have been photocopied.

Second, the Hackett edition not only has Descartes' important philosophical works, but also includes a fine selection from Descartes' minor writings and correspondence (since Cambridge also publishes the complete writings of Descartes, they're not particularly motivated to do something like this). One finds, e.g., Descartes' 1640 letter to Colvius regarding the 'cogito ergo sum' argument found in Augustine's City of God, as well as two very important letters to the Marquis of Newcastle and Henry More regarding the question of whether animals have souls and whether space is infinite and vacuums are possible.

All selections are arranged chronologically, and Ariew has written a helpful introduction. Numbers in the page margins correlate each selection to the place where it is found in the standard original language edition of Descartes' works (Oeuvres de Descartes, eds. Adam and Tannery, 2nd ed., Paris: 1964-74). This is THE introductory edition to get.

Good edition.
The philosophy of Descartes is not the most iron-clad of arguments.He bases almost all of his major conclusions on certain facts that are far from given.For instance, his proof that material things exist depends totally on the fact that God exists.While he does offer 2 proofs that God exists, the arguments are flawed.One is an argument that had been offered hundreds of years before, and was deemed flawed even then.The other just plain doesn't work.

But his philosophy did help bring about the skepticism of "Is this all real?What if it's just a dream, or a hallucination?".That in itself makes this book a good read.

This edition is rather nice, having a wide range of writings from Descartes, including the most famous, the Meditations with criticisms and responses. ... Read more

Book Description
This book is available either individually, or as part of the specially-priced Arguments of the Philosphers Collection. ... Read more

Book Description
Descartes has often been called the "father of modern philosophy." His attempts to find foundations for knowledge, and to reconcile the existence of the soul with the emerging science of his time, are among the most influential and widely studied in the history of philosophy.

This is a classic and challenging introduction to Descartes by one of the most distinguished modern philosophers. Bernard Williams not only analyses Descartes's project of founding knowledge on certainty, but uncovers the philosophical motives for his search. With acute insight, he demonstrates how Descartes's Meditations are not merely a description but the very enactment of philosophical thought and discovery. Williams covers all of the key areas of Descartes's thought, including god, the will, the possibility of knowledge, and the mind and its place in nature. He also makes some profound contributions to the theory of knowledge, metaphysics and philosophy generally, making Descartes essential reading for any student of philosophy.

This reissue includes a new foreword by John Cottingham, University of Reading. ... Read more

Book Description
French philosophy in the latter half of the seventeenth century was dominated by reactions to Rene Descartes.So influential was his philosophical legacy that it was practically impossible to write or discuss philosophy without taking a position in regard to the Cartesian worldview.Most later philosophers either adapted Descartes's approach to fit other points of view or they criticized aspects of Descartes's philocophy that were perceived to threaten more traditional approaches to philosophy.

In the latter camp is the "Censura Philosophiae Cartesianae", written in Latin by Pierre-Daniel Huet (1630-1721), an erudite cleric, teacher, philosopher, and scientist, and one of the most accomplished intellectuals of the age.In the first-ever English translation of the "Censura", Thomas M. Lennon has done both historians and philosophers a great service by presenting this fully annotated edition of Huet's magnum opus.

The "Censura" is the most comprehensive, unrelenting, and devastating critique of Descartes ever published.Anticipating the issues that have occupied Cartesian scholarship for the past half-century, Huet argues at length that Descartes's philosophy fails on many counts: his methodology of doubting; the reliability of his famous "cogita" ("I think, therefore I am"); clarity and distinctness as criteria of truth; his proofs for the existence of God; the circularity of his main argument in the "Meditations"; and numerous other points.

Complete with an extensive introduction explaining the circumstances, history, and importance of the work; a brief biography of its fascinating author; and helpful scholarly annotations; this translation of Huet's "Censura" brings to light an important philosophical work that has been neglected for more than three hundred years.

This is the first volume in the new JHP Books series, published in cooperation with the "Journal of the History of Philosophy." ... Read more

Book Description
Rene Descartes is the 16th century philosopher who perpetually doubted everything--even his own physical existence! ... Read more

Customer Reviews (6)

More than you cared to know about the "I think therefore I am" guy
It's an easy going read and quite informative, but I felt they stretched it a bit to make a full book out of his work.Could have been half the length, I think.

Cogito ergo Sum - I think therefore I am
Descartes is responsible for discovering a series of explanations for the Cogito. Descartes is mainly good at asking the right questions, getting the maths right, but his philosophies are a series of stepping stones that although quite forgotten today were useful tools for the dawn of scientific theory. For this reason Descartes is best taken with `Introduction to Newton and classical physics' for the pre-Newton physics thoughts, although it works well enough as a standalone. This is also the era of pre-psychoanalysis at the basic level.

Descartes, a Frenchman, was sickly as a child and was allowed to stay in bed until early afternoon. He learned Greek and Latin and music. He spent his teens and early 20s in the army. In the winter of 1619 he was snowed in and spent the months just thinking to himself in his room about the mind. He had a number of what he believed were prophetical dreams, moved to Holland, rejected that theism could explain the mind (although he believed in a God), got interested in Galileo's experiments, and decided to experiment on the mind.

Core criteria:

Reduction in mathematics
Rejecting final cause
Clear ideas in a cleared mind
The modes of wax
Rationalists and empiricists
Scepticism
Consequences and death
Cartesian doubt
Dreams
Rationalists and reason
Invisible demons and the God filter
Impossibility of private language
Cogito ergo Sum - I think therefore I am
Ontological argument
Meditations on perception
Mathematics
Formalists
Res Extensa
Vivisections
Cartesian dualism
Language
Brains
The mind body problem
Consciousness
Behaviourists
Physicalists
Computers
Ethics
The thinking individual
Postmodernism

This is a great part of the history of psychology and physics. The only problem is that it is missing a better reference with evolution which would help explain many of the problems we are left with. This is part of what happens when you read Descartes because it is part of the historical record and has since been improved upon by Newton in physics and Fraud in psychology.

you'd think people know how this series works by now
This is a perfect read for the layman who maybe doesn't have long periods of time to devote to reading who has the desire to learn about the father of modern philosophy and its problem of consciousness. I easily completed this book within one afternoon. Though it has a typical amount of pages, the comic-like format turns the read into a swift breeze filled with humor and creativity. It begins with explaining why Descartes is the father of modern philosophy, namely that he thought for himself (in a departure from Scholasticism). Though he retained Christian belief throughout his life, he was a very rational and mathematically minded person in the field of science that he managed to keep secular in practice, though it would ultimately be verified on God the Geometer's grounds. Aside from his biography, this Cartesian exordium lays out the philosophy of mind and all of the perspectives on it. (dual aspect monism, occasionalism, epiphenomenalism, materialism, functionalism, behaviourism, cognitivism and pyschophysical parallelism--for some more recent takes on the ghost in the machine I recommend Colin Mcginn's "The Mysterious Flame") Inevitably these talks bring up the issue of artificial intelligence and conscious automata.
Obviously like any other book in the "Introducing" series this book is simple, general, and fun, but at the same time comprehensive and a great starting point.

Immensely Disappointing
I fail to understand the purpose of this book. My intent for this purchase was to get an introduction to Descarte's philosophy. To my utter disappointment, i found this book lacking any materials to this regards. The illustrations i found rather childish and annoying. There is no mention of Descarte's philosophy or any other subject that can add value or interest to a serious reader. I am extremely disappointed with this book, every page has an unnecessary illustration, these illustrations have no relevance to the subject. If the illustrations were removed the entire book can fit in 3 pages.

Introducing Descartes: an invitation into thought
Perhaps one of the largest criticism of the entire series of these books is the lack of depth. I find this a strength. Already fairly familiar with Descartes I found this book to cover a broad scope of theories related to Descartes'. Admittedly there are points where depth could be needed. I think though that the people that complain about depth, are the same people who need to be spoon-fed how to think. I found that the work, made me ponder about some of the issues put forth by it. So if you want to be spoon-fed opinion, and then consider yourself an "intellectual." Then by all means avoid this book, and find something more detailed. However if you feel you are capable of deeper INDEPENDANT thought, but simply need a starting point, this is a must have. ... Read more

Book Description
Receptions of Descartes is a collection of work by an international group of authors that focuses on the various ways in which Descartes was interpreted, defended and criticized in early modern Europe. The book is divided into five sections, four of which focus on Descartes' receptions in specific French, Dutch, Italian and English contexts and one which concerns the receptions of Descartes among female philosophers. ... Read more

Book Description
Covering both the history of mathematics and of philosophy, Descartes's Mathematical Thought reconstructs the intellectual career of Descartes most comprehensively and originally in a global perspective including the history of early modern China and Japan. Especially, it shows what the concept of "mathesis universalis" meant before and during the period of Descartes and how it influenced the young Descartes. In fact, it was the most fundamental mathematical discipline during the seventeenth century, and for Descartes a key notion which may have led to his novel mathematics of algebraic analysis. ... Read more