Descartes is widely acknowledged as a central figure in the origins of modernity. The nature of his thought and of the role it played is, however, a matter of considerable dispute among experts. The Cartesian Mind is a significant contribution to this debate. It covers the full extent of his work, not only placing it in its historical context but also exploring its reception, legacy, and contemporary significance.
Comprising over 40 chapters by an international team of distinguished scholars, the collection is divided into 3 parts:
- Historical Context
- Philosophical Themes
- Reception and Influence.
Within these parts, key topics are addressed, including Descartes's life and works, Platonism, Scholasticism, Stoicism, skepticism, atomism, meditation, method, the self, God, will and freedom, mind and body, biology and medicine, causation, mathematics, the natural sciences, philosophy of science, ethics, and the origins of idealism. Descartes’s reception and legacy within science and philosophy from the seventeenth century to our days, including current analytic and continental traditions, as well as within the broader contemporary culture, also receive sustained attention.
Descartes’s work is central to all areas of philosophy, including epistemology, metaphysics, philosophy of mind, philosophy of science, and ethics. As such The Cartesian Mind is essential reading and an indispensable tool for all students and researchers in the discipline.
Table of Contents:
Notes on Contributors Abbreviations and Conventions Acknowledgements Introduction: Cartesian Studies and the Janus-faced Philosopher Jorge Secada and Travis Tanner Part 1: Historical Context 1. Descartes’s Life and Works Desmond Clarke 2. The Platonic Tradition Jonathan Hill 3. The Scholastic and Meditational Traditions Jorge Secada 4. The Skeptical Tradition Henrik Lagerlund 5. Descartes and the Atomists Andrew Pyle 6. Descartes and the Stoics John Marshall Part 2: Philosophical Themes 7. Descartes’ Method Tarek Dika and Denis Kambouchner 8. Descartes’ Cogito Stephen I. Wagner 9. The Nature of the Self Lilli Alanen 10. How Well do Cartesian Minds Know Themselves? Lex Newman 11. Descartes on Ideas Kurt Smith 12. Sensibility and Intellect in Descartes Tom Vinci 13. Material Falsity Cecilia Wee 14. Descartes’s Concept of God Catherine Wilson 15. Descartes on Will and Judgment Noa Naaman-Zauderer 16. Descartes’ Distinctive Conception of Freedom Andrea Christofidou 17. Simple Natures and Eternal Truths David Cunning 18. Substance in Descartes Justin Skirry 19. Body Edward Slowik 20. Descartes on the real distinction between mind and body Katherine J. Morris 21. Causation Walter Ott 22. Descartes on Formal Causation Travis Tanner 23. Mathematics and Geometry Judith V. Grabiner 24. The Nature and Method of Physics and Natural Sciences Helen Hattab 25. Descartes, Metaphysics and the Philosophy of Science Celia Wolf-Devine 26. The Meaning of ‘Life’ in Descartes’ Natural Philosophy Deborah Brown 27. Cartesian Biology and Medicine Gideon Manning 28. Spontaneous Volition and Passionate Reasons Amy Schmitter 29. Descartes’s Ethics Patrick Frierson Part 3: Reception and Influence 30. Cartesians and Anti-Cartesians in the Seventeenth and Eighteenth Centuries Tad Schmaltz 31. Descartes and the Newtonians Sarah Hutton 32. The Rationalist Reception of Descartes Alan Nelson and Noa Shein 33. Descartes and Berkeley or the Cartesian Origins of Idealism Jorge Secada 34. Into and out of Cartesianism within German Idealism Terry Pinkard 35. Figures of Descartes in Nineteenth-Century France Delphine Antoine-Mahut 36. Husserl revisiting Descartes Rosemary Rizo Patrón de Lerner 37. Anscombe’s Intention James Doyle 38. Cartesian Legacies in Contemporary Epistemology and Philosophy of Mind Harold Langsam 39. Descartes and the Philosophy of Mind Lawrence Nolan 40. Cartesian Certainty, Realism and Scientific Inference Manuel Barrantes 41. Descartes and Modern and Contemporary Theology Aza Goudriaan 42. Descartes in Contemporary Culture Diana Cortez Buitrón (with Jorge Secada). Index
About the Author :
Jorge Secada is Professor of Philosophy at the University of Virginia, USA, and is the author of Cartesian Metaphysics; Meditaciones sobre el Perú and a number of articles on early modern philosophy and other subjects.
Travis Tanner is Instructor of Philosophy and Religion at Austin Peay State University, USA. He is the author of several papers on the history of early modern philosophy, and his current research concerns the intersection of science, religion, and metaphysics during the Scientific Revolution.
Cecilia Wee was Associate Professor of Philosophy at the National University of Singapore and is the author of Material Falsity and Error in Descartes’ Meditations and a number of papers on early modern philosophy.
