“Acute yet bereft of jargon, scholarly yet footnote-free, imaginative yet keenly focused – Descartes could not have dreamt of a more attractive Guide.” <i>André Gombay, University of Toronto</i><br /> <p><br /> </p> <p>“Stephen Gaukroger has assembled a splendid collection of essays written by some of the best scholars in the field. It helps the reader navigate from Descartes’ predecessors, through the <i>Meditations</i>, and on to the later reception of this seminal text. As an extra bonus the volume includes an important seventeenth-century English translation of Descartes’ text. This volume will be used with profit by students of Descartes at every level.” <i>Daniel Garber, Princeton University</i></p>
- Situates the Meditations in its philosophical and historical context.
- Touches on all of the major themes of the Meditations, including the mind-body relation, the nature of the mind, and the existence of the material world.
References to Descartes’ Works.
Introduction.
Stephen Gaukroger.
1. The Meditations and the Objections and Replies: Roger Ariew (University of South Florida, Tampa).
2. Descartes and skepticism: Charles Larmore (University of Chicago).
3. The cogito and foundations of knowledge: Edwin Curley (University of Michigan).
4. The nature of the mind: Marleen Rozemond (University of Toronto).
5. The doctrine of substance: Jorge Secada (University of Virginia).
6. The doctrine of ideas: Steven Nadler (University of Wisconsin).
7. Proofs for the existence of God: Lawrence Nolan (California State University) and Alan Nelson (University of California – Irvine).
8. The Cartesian circle: Gary Hatfield (University of Pennsylvania).
9. Judgement and will: Michael Della Rocca (Yale University).
10. Descartes’ proof of the existence of matter: Desmond Clarke (University College Cork).
11. The mind-body relation: John Cottingham (Reading University).
12. Seventeenth-century responses to the Meditations: Tad Schmaltz (Duke University).
Appendix: Descartes’ Metaphysical Meditations, trans. William Molyneux (1680).
References.
Index
Situating the Meditations’ arguments in their philosophical and historical context, the essays in this volume constitute an ideal companion to Descartes’ masterwork.