Rene Descartes (1596-1650) was born in La Haye, France, and educated at the Jesuit College at La Fleche. In
1628 he retired to the Netherlands to study philosophy until 1649, when he was invited to Sweden to instruct Queen
Christina.
Clarke, Desmond M. : National University of Ireland, Cork
Desmond M. Clarke is chair and head of the Department of Philosophy at the National University of Ireland, Cork.
Summary
A new, superb translation of Descartes' seminal contribution to modern philosophy and science.
The age of Newton marks one of the great turning points in intellectual history, and Descartes has a key place
at its very heart. Designed for students who approach Descartes from the point of view of his philosophy of science,
this is the second of a new two-volume edition of the works of Descartes in Penguin Classics. Descartes did major
research in optics, geometry, astronomy, and physiology, although (partly because Galileo had just been condemned
by the Inquisition) he published nothing until he was over forty. The Discourse forms the preface to his
first collection of scientific papers, outlining a new method based on hypothesis and deduction, which effectively
replaced Aristotelian techniques. This edition puts the work in context by including extracts from Descartes' correspondence,
the Rules for Guiding One's Intelligence, and The World--a posthumously published summary of his
physical theories.
Translated with an Introduction and Notes by Desmond M. Clarke
Table of Contents
Acknowledgements
Note on References to Descartes
Introduction
Further Reading
Discourse on the Method for Guiding One's Reason and Searching for Truth in the Sciences
p. 1
Selected Correspondence, 1636-9
p. 55
The World, or a Treatise on Light (Chapters 1-7)
p. 81
Rules for Guiding One's Intelligence in Searching for the Truth
p. 113
Text Notes
p. 195
Index
p. 205
Table of Contents provided by Blackwell. All Rights Reserved.
