This is a book-length study of two of Descartes's most innovative successors, Robert Desgabets and Pierre-Sylvain Regis, and of their highly original contributions to Cartesianism. The focus of the book is an analysis of radical doctrines in the work of these thinkers that derive from arguments in Descartes: on the creation of eternal truths, on the intentionality of ideas, and on the soul-body union. As well as relating their work to that of fellow Cartesians such as Malebranche and Arnauld, the book also establishes the important though neglected role played by Desgabets and Regis in the theologically and politically charged reception of Descartes in early modern France. This is a major contribution to the history of Cartesianism that will be of special interest to historians of early modern philosophy and historians of ideas.

This new comparative study considers the impact of Descartes's thought on early modern philosophy, theology and science. This consideration reveals that competing Cartesianisms emerged in the Netherlands and France during a period dating from the last decades of Descartes's life to the century or so following his death in 1650.

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, the first four of which focus on Descartes' reception in specific French, Dutch, Italian and English contexts and the last of which concerns the reception of Descartes among female philosophers.

A historically-informed account of the lasting importance of embodied thought in the intellectual trajectory of René Descartes, still remembered today as the founding father of dualism.

"Descartes is the father of modern philosophy, and the Meditations is his most important work." Bertrand Russell "Descartes was the first to bring to light the idea of a transcendental science, which is to contain a system of knowledge of the conditions of possibility of all knowledge." - Kant "The effect of this man on his age and the new age cannot be imagined broadly enough... René Descartes is indeed the true beginner of modern philosophy, insofar as it makes thinking the principle. "- Hegel "Descartes is rightly considered the father of modern philosophy" - Schopenhauer A new 2023 translation directly from the original manuscripts into English of Descartes' famous work "Meditations on First Philosophy". This edition contains a new introduction and afterword from the translator, as well as a timeline of Descartes' life and summaries of each of his works. In these "meditations", in mimicry of Marcus Aurelius, Descartes pens a series of essays on the nature of reality, the existence of God, and the relationship between mind and body. This work is significant because it helped to establish Descartes' philosophy of dualism and had a profound and lasting impact on Western philosophy. In this work, Descartes famously proclaimed, "Cogito, ergo sum" ("I think, therefore I am"), establishing the moniker of Cartesian Epistemology and the foundation of the Enlightenment

Descartes is perhaps most closely associated with the title, “the Father of Modern Philosophy.” Generations of students have been introduced to the study of philosophy through a consideration of his Meditations on First Philosophy. His contributions to natural science is shown by the fact that his physics, as promulgated by the Cartesians, played a central role in the debates after his death over Isaac Newton’s theory of gravitation. Descartes also made major contributions to the field of analytic geometry; we still speak today of “Cartesian coordinates” and the “Cartesian product.” This second edition of Historical Dictionary of Descartes and Cartesian Philosophy covers the history through a chronology, an introductory essay, and an extensive bibliography. The dictionary section has over 300 cross-referenced entries on various concepts in Descartes’ philosophy, science, and mathematics, as well as biographical entries about the intellectual setting for Descartes’ philosophy and its reception, both with Cartesians and anti-Cartesians. This book is an excellent access point for students, researchers, and anyone wanting to know more about Descartes.

The Discourse on the Method is a philosophical and mathematical treatise published by Ren� Descartes in 1637. Its full name is Discourse on the Method of Rightly Conducting the Reason, and Searching for Truth in the Sciences (French title: Discours de la m�thode pour bien conduire sa raison, et chercher la verit� dans les sciences). The Discourse on Method is best known as the source of the famous quotation "Je pense, donc je suis" ("I think, therefore I am"), which occurs in Part IV of the work. (The similar statement in Latin, Cogito ergo sum, is found in �7 of Principles of Philosophy.) In addition, in one of its appendices, La G�om�trie, is contained Descartes' first introduction of the Cartesian coordinate system.The Discourse on the Method is one of the most influential works in the history of modern science. It is a method which gives a solid platform from which all modern natural sciences could evolve. In this work, Descartes tackles the problem of skepticism which had been revived from the ancients such as Sextus Empiricus by authors such as Al-Ghazali and Michel de Montaigne. Descartes modified it to account for a truth that he found to be incontrovertible. Descartes started his line of reasoning by doubting everything, so as to assess the world from a fresh perspective, clear of any preconceived notions.The book was originally published in Leiden in French, together with his works "Dioptrique, M�t�ores et G�om�trie". Later, it was translated into Latin and published in 1656 in Amsterdam.Together with Meditations on First Philosophy (Meditationes de Prima Philosophia), Principles of Philosophy (Principia philosophiae) and Rules for the Direction of the Mind (Regulae ad directionem ingenii), it forms the base of the Epistemology known as Cartesianism.

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.

In Meditations on First Philosophy, French philosopher René Descartes, now regarded as the father of Western philosophy, introduces the concept of the dichotomy—the separation of mind and body—by determining, “I think, therefore I am.” Over the course of six meditations, each presented as though they were the meditations of a single day, Descartes contemplates certainty and uncertainty, dismissing everything that cannot be known definitely, and making a case for the few things that can indeed be known—first ascertaining the truth of his own existence and then that of God. HarperTorch brings great works of non-fiction and the dramatic arts to life in digital format, upholding the highest standards in ebook production and celebrating reading in all its forms. Look for more titles in the HarperTorch collection to build your digital library.