Matter Matters: Metaphysics and Methodology in the Early Modern Period

Why is there a material world? Why is it fundamentally mathematical? Matter Matters explores a seventeenth-century answer to these questions as it emerged from the works of Descartes and Leibniz. The 'mathematization' of the physics is shown to have been conceptually underwritten by two methods of philosophizing, namely, analysis and synthesis. The connection between these things-mathematics, matter, and the methods of analysis and synthesis-has thus far gone unexplored by scholars. The book is in four Parts: Part I works out the context in which the theory of modern matter arose. Part II develops the method of analysis, showing how it aligns with Descartes's famous doctrine of clear and distinct ideas. Part III develops the method of synthesis, focusing primarily on Leibniz, showing how it establishes the very conditions necessary and sufficient for mathematics. Analysis and synthesis turn out to establish isomorphic conceptual systems, which turn out to be isomorphic to what mathematicians today call a group. The group concept expresses the conditions underwriting all of mathematics. Part IV examines several relatively new interpretations of Descartes--the realist and idealist readings--which appear to be at odds with one another. The examination shows the sense in which these readings are actually compatible, and together reveal a richer picture of Descartes's position on the reality of matter. Ultimately, Matter Matters establishes the claim that mathematics is intelligible if, and only if, matter exists.

Table of Contents:
PART I: PRELIMINARIES: THE CONTEXT OF MODERN MATTER; PART II: ANALYSIS; PART III: SYNTHESIS; PART IV: SENSIBLE AND INTELLIGIBLE MATTER

About the Author :
Kurt Smith earned his BA in philosophy at the University of California, Irvine, and his MA and PhD in philosophy at Claremont Graduate University. He is currently Professor of philosophy at Bloomsburg University of Pennsylvania. His work can be found in such publications as the Stanford Encyclopaedia of Philosophy, Canadian Journal of Philosophy, History of Philosophy Quarterly, and in the Oxford Studies in Early Modern Philosophy series.

Review :
Some of what Smith says is very controversial, but he offers an interesting answer to the question of why matter exists if its existence might otherwise be regarded a superfluous. Anyone interested in the development of mathematics and philosophy in the seventeenth century will find something of interest here, and Smith's rational reconstruction of early modern treatments of analysis and synthesis will surely take its place as a standard treatment of the subject. Kurt Smith's intriguing new book covers a host of topics in early modern philosophy that will be familiar to scholars of this period - in particular, Descartes' method in the Meditations and other works - but Smith's approach and arguments will strike many as refreshingly innovative and, it must be admitted, fairly controversial... There is much that is valuable and noteworthy in this provocative work, and it will likely engender a reevaluation by scholars of many well trodden and seldom questioned aspects of Descartes' and Leibniz's methodological systems... the journey on which Smith leads his reader is well worth the time and investment and will likely aid in drawing the attention of many early modern scholars to these important and fertile issues for further research. Matter Matters is a work of genius. The work exhibits a breathtaking spread of erudition from antiquity to the present, mobilized to elucidate the early modern significance of the concept of matter. The slight play of words in the title expresses the principal thesis of the work, that mathematics is intelligible for Descartes if and only if matter exists as its object. Smith understands, better than anyone, how Descartes could claim, literally, that "my physics is nothing but geometry." Many will be convinced, some dismayed, and all will be dazzled by this book. Kurt Smith's Matter Matters is a brilliantly suggestive study of early modern philosophy ... The book's virtues are many. It contains important contributions to the literature on Descartes. There is also a refreshing confidence on display, as Smith draws connections between very different thinkers across large spans of time and a range of topics this is a book that deserves attention Kurt Smith's Matter Matters is a brilliantly suggestive study of early modern philosophy. ... The book's virtues are many. It contains important contributions to the literature of Descartes. There is also a refreshing confidence on display, as Smith draws connections between many different thinkers across large spans of time and a range of topics.