The volume offers the first large-scale study of the teaching of Descartes’s philosophy in the early modern age, across the borders of countries, and confessions, both within and without the university setting – public conferences, private tutorials, distance learning by letter.

This book explores René Descartes’s attempts to describe particular bodies, such as rocks, minerals, metals, plants, and animals, within the mechanistic interpretation of nature of his philosophical program. Despite his early rationalistic epistemology, Descartes’s increasing attention to collections, histories, lists of qualities, and particular bodies results in a puzzling ‘short history of all natural phenomena’ contained in the Principles of philosophy (1644). The present book outlines the role of Descartes's observations and experimentation as he aimed to construct a universal science of nature, ultimately revealing the mechanization of nature in detail, and for curious bodies such as the Bologna Stone or the sensitive herb. What results is a theoretical natural history consistent with the mechanical principles of his philosophy, ultimately shedding new light on his attempt to produce a complete philosophy of nature.

Big Ideas for Little Kids includes everything a teacher, a parent, or a college student needs to teach philosophy to elementary school children from picture books. Written in a clear and accessible style, the book explains why it is important to allow young children access to philosophy during primary-school education. Wartenberg also gives advice on how to construct a "learner-centered" classroom, in which children discuss philosophical issues with one another as they respond to open-ended questions by saying whether they agree or disagree with what others have said.

This book provides an accessible, readable, student-centred guide to Descartes' Meditations, which is a set text for AQA AS Philosophy. Through lucid explanation, careful use of modern examples and engaging activities it leads students towards deeper understanding of Descartes' arguments and the wider philosophical implications of his ideas. Key features include: - a biographical introduction setting The Meditations in its historical context - a step-by-step guide through the text of The Meditations including key quotes - tasks and activities to stimulate thought and help readers understand and evaluate Descartes' philosophy - a critical analysis of the philosophical implications of Descartes' ideas - end-of-chapter key point summaries covering what readers need to know to answer exam questions on The Meditations - an extensive glossary of key words and ideas - thorough referencing to enable students to follow up key ideas and quotes in independent study.

Philosophers on Education offers us the most comprehensive available history of philosopher's views and impacts on the directions of education. As Amelie Rorty explains, in describing a history of education, we are essentially describing and gaining the clearest understanding of the issues that presently concern and divide us. The essays in this stellar collection are written by some of the finest comtemporary philosophers. Those interested in history of philosophy, epistemology, moral psychology and education, and political theory will find Philosophers on Education to be both an engaging and fascinating read.

The Descartes Dictionary is an accessible guide to the world of the seventeenth-century philosopher René Descartes. Meticulously researched and extensively cross-referenced, this unique book covers all his major works, ideas and influences, and provides a firm grounding in the central themes of Descartes' thought. The introduction provides a biographical sketch, a brief account of Descartes' philosophical works, and a summary of the current state of Cartesian studies, discussing trends in research over the past four decades. The A-Z entries include clear definitions of the key terms used in Descartes' writings and detailed synopses of his works. Also included are entries noting philosophical influences, of both figures that influenced Descartes and those that he in turn influenced. For anyone reading or studying Descartes, rationalism, or modern philosophy more generally, this original resource provides a wealth of useful information, analysis, and criticism. Including clear explanations of often complex terminology, The Descartes Dictionary covers everything that is essential to a sound understanding of Descartes' philosophy.

First Published in 1996. This first of its kind Encyclopaedia charts the influence of philosophic ideas that have had the greatest influence on education from Ancient Greece to the present. It covers classical thinkers as Plato, Augustine, Hypatia, Locke and Rousseau, as well as recent figures such as Montessori, Heldegger, Du Bois and Dewey. It illuminates time-hounded ideas and concepts such as idealism, practical wisdom, scholasticism, tragedy and truth, as well as modern constructs as critical theory, existentialism, phenomenology, Marxism and post-Colonialism. The coverage consists of 228 articles by 184 contributors who survey the full spectrum of the philosophy of education.

Descartes’s revolutionary treatise on reason and scientific thought, which sparked radical breakthroughs in mathematics, philosophy, and metaphysics After he finished school, René Descartes was left with more doubts than certainties. His Jesuit education included some of the best teaching available in mathematics, physics, and letters, and yet Descartes found the foundations of his schooling hollow. Determined to discover for himself what was real, he spent the next nine years traveling through Europe, interacting with locals of all walks of life, including nobles, soldiers, and laborers, in search of the breadth of experience that would later inspire his greatest work: Discourse on Method. When it was first published, the book offered a remarkable new approach to gaining knowledge based on reason and skepticism, the steps for which Descartes lays out sequentially, from the deconstruction of all previously held beliefs to the slow and methodical rebuilding of fact anchored in the first and most innate truth: I think, therefore I am. This ebook has been professionally proofread to ensure accuracy and readability on all devices.