Most Popular Books by Rene Descartes

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.

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.” 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.

This is a new release of the original 1952 edition.

Meditations on First Philosophy Rene Descartes - Descartes''s Meditations on First Philosophy, the fundamental and originating work of the modern era in Western philosophy, is presented here in Donald Cress''s completely revised edition of his well-established translation, bringing this version even closer to Descartes''s original, while maintaining its clear and accessible style.

Widely regarded as the father of modern Western philosophy, Descartes sought to look beyond established ideas and create a thought system based on reason. In this profound work he meditates on doubt, the human soul, God, truth and the nature of existence itself. GREAT IDEAS. Throughout history, some books have changed the world. They have transformed the way we see ourselves - and each other. They have inspired debate, dissent, war and revolution. They have enlightened, outraged, provoked and comforted. They have enriched lives - and destroyed them. Now Penguin brings you the works of the great thinkers, pioneers, radicals and visionaries whose ideas shook civilization and helped make us who we are.

Discourse on the Method Rene Descartes - Published in the 17th century, Discourse on the Method is considered one of the most profound and influential works on philosophy. Descartes touches on subjects such as nature, the existence of God and the Soul, and morality, among many others

I perceived it to be possible to arrive at knowledge highly useful in life; and in room of the Speculative Philosophy usually taught in the Schools, to discover a Practical, by means of which, knowing the force and action of fire, water, air, the stars, the heavens, and all the other bodies that surround us, as distinctly as we know the various crafts of our artizans, we might also apply them in the same way to all the uses to which they are adapted, and thus render ourselves the lords and possessors of nature. from Part VI of Discourse on the Method Sometimes called the father of modern philosophy, French mathematician, scientist, and writer RENE DESCARTES (15961650) continues to have a deeply profound impact on our modern world. His thinking on how the mind works and what is it capable of has profoundly impacted our understanding of ourselveshe summed up his philosophy with the phrase I think, therefore I am, which still thrills usand his influence extends to our own experiments with modern computing and artificial intelligence. Here, in one volume, are two of the great thinkers most significant works: [ Discourse on the Method was written in French and first published in 1637 under the full title Discourse on the Method of Rightly Conducting the Reason, and Seeking Truth in the Sciencesits treatise on the value of doubt and skepticism when studying the natural world laid the foundation for the modern scientific method as we still employ it today. [ Meditations, originally subtitled In which the existence of God and the immortality of the soul are demonstrated, was written in Latin and first published in 1641here, Descartes considers that nature of the human mind, how we can know whatwe know, and the essence of material things. Essential reading for understanding both todays science and todays philosophy, these foundational works are here presented in the 1901 edition of the 1850 English translations by Scottish poet, philosopher, and historian JOHN VEITCH (18291894).

Principles of Philosophy is a book by Rene Descartes. It is basically a synthesis of the Discourse on Method and Meditations on First Philosophy. It set forth the principles of nature—the Laws of Physics--as Descartes viewed them. Most notably, it set forth the principle that in the absence of external forces, an object''s motion will be uniform and in a straight line. Newton borrowed this principle from Descartes and included it in his own Principia; to this day, it is still generally referred to as Newton''s First Law of Motion. The book was primarily intended to replace the Aristotelian curriculum then used in French and British Universities. Descartes''s use of the word "philosophy" in the title refers to "natural philosophy", which is what science was called at that time.

René Descartes (31 March 1596 - 11 February 1650) was a French philosopher, mathematician, and scientist. A native of the Kingdom of France, he spent about 20 years (1629-1649) of his life in the Dutch Republic after serving for a while in the Dutch States Army of Maurice of Nassau, Prince of Orange and the Stadtholder of the United Provinces. One of the most notable intellectual figures of the Dutch Golden Age, [19] Descartes is also widely regarded as one of the founders of modern philosophy. Many elements of Descartes'' philosophy have precedents in late Aristotelianism, the revived Stoicism of the 16th century, or in earlier philosophers like Augustine. In his natural philosophy, he differed from the schools on two major points: first, he rejected the splitting of corporeal substance into matter and form; second, he rejected any appeal to final ends, divine or natural, in explaining natural phenomena.[20] In his theology, he insists on the absolute freedom of God''s act of creation. Refusing to accept the authority of previous philosophers, Descartes frequently set his views apart from the philosophers who preceded him. In the opening section of the Passions of the Soul, an early modern treatise on emotions, Descartes goes so far as to assert that he will write on this topic "as if no one had written on these matters before". His best known philosophical statement is "I think, therefore I am" (French: Je pense, donc je suis; Latin: cogito, ergo sum), found in Discourse on the Method (1637; written in French and Latin) and Principles of Philosophy (1644; written in Latin) Descartes laid the foundation for 17th-century continental rationalism, later advocated by Spinoza and Leibniz, and was later opposed by the empiricist school of thought consisting of Hobbes, Locke, Berkeley, and Hume. Leibniz, Spinoza, and Descartes were all well-versed in mathematics as well as philosophy, and Descartes and Leibniz contributed greatly to science as well. Descartes'' Meditations on First Philosophy (1641) continues to be a standard text at most university philosophy departments. Descartes'' influence in mathematics is equally apparent; the Cartesian coordinate system was named after him. He is credited as the father of analytical geometry, the bridge between algebra and geometry--used in the discovery of infinitesimal calculus and analysis. Descartes was also one of the key figures in the Scientific Revolution.

René Descartes wrote a philosophical and autobiographical work titled Discourse on the Method of Rightly Conducting One''s Reason and of Seeking Truth in the Sciences, which was published in 1637. The most well-known use of it is as the inspiration for the idiom "Je pense, donc Je Suis," which appears in Part IV of the work. Meditations on First Philosophy (1641) contains a similar argument but without this same language, and Principles of Philosophy contains a Latin translation of the identical claim, Cogito, ergo sum (1644). One of the most influential books in the history of contemporary philosophy, Discourse on the Method is crucial to the advancement of the natural sciences. Descartes addresses the issue of skepticism in this work, which was previously researched by other philosophers. Descartes adapted the methods of some of his predecessors and contemporaries while addressing a fact that he believed to be indisputable; in order to observe the world honestly and without any bias, he started out on his line of reasoning by doubting everything. The book''s initial printing took place in Leiden, Netherlands. Dioptrique, Météores, and Géométrie were the three works that the book was meant to provide as an introduction.

The Discourse on the Method (French: Discours de la m�thode) is a philosophical and autobiographical treatise published by Ren� Descartes in 1637. Its full name is Discourse on the Method of Rightly Conducting One''s Reason and of Seeking Truth in the Sciences (French title: Discours de la m�thode pour bien conduire sa raison, et chercher la v�rit� dans les sciences). The Discourse on The 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 Part I, �7 of Principles of Philosophy.)The Discourse on the Method is one of the most influential works in the history of modern philosophy, and important to the development of natural sciences. In this work, Descartes tackles the problem of skepticism, which had previously been studied by Sextus Empiricus, Al-Ghazali[1] and Michel de Montaigne. Descartes modified it to account for a truth 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 the Netherlands. Later, it was translated into Latin and published in 1656 in Amsterdam. The book was intended as an introduction to three works Dioptrique, M�t�ores and G�om�trie. La G�om�trie contains Descartes'' first introduction of the Cartesian coordinate system. That the text was written and published in French rather than Latin, which was the language in which philosophical and scientific texts were most frequently written and published (as were most of Descartes'' other works), is worth noting.

With the celebrated words ''I think therefore I am'', Descartes'' compelling argument swept aside ancient and medieval traditions. He deduced that human beings consist of minds and bodies; that these are totally distinct ''substances''; that God exists and that He ensures we can trust the evidence of our senses. Ushering in the ''scientific revolution'' of Galileo and Newton, Descartes'' ideas have also set the agenda for debate ever since. By calling everything into doubt, Descartes laid the foundations of modern philosophy.

Founded in the mid-17th century, Rationalism was philosophy''s first step into the modern era. This volume contains the essential statements of Rationalism''s three greatest figures: Descartes, who began it; Spinoza, who epitomized it; and Leibniz, who gave it its last serious expression.

One of the foundation-stones of modern philosophy Descartes was prepared to go to any lengths in his search for certainty—even to deny those things that seemed most self-evident. In his Meditations of 1641, and in the Objections and Replies that were included with the original publication, he set out to dismantle and then reconstruct the idea of the individual self and its existence. In doing so, Descartes developed a language of subjectivity that has lasted to this day, and he also took his first steps towards the view that would eventually be expressed in the epigram Cogito, ergo sum ("I think, therefore I am"), one of modern philosophy''s most famous—and most fiercely contested—claims. The first part of a two-volume edition of Descartes'' works in Penguin Classics, the second of which is Discourse on Method & Related Writings. For more than seventy years, Penguin has been the leading publisher of classic literature in the English-speaking world. With more than 1,700 titles, Penguin Classics represents a global bookshelf of the best works throughout history and across genres and disciplines. Readers trust the series to provide authoritative texts enhanced by introductions and notes by distinguished scholars and contemporary authors, as well as up-to-date translations by award-winning translators.

"It is not enough to have a good mind; it is more important to use it well" René Descartes was a central figure in the scientific revolution of the seventeenth century. In his Discourse on Method he outlined the contrast between mathematics and experimental sciences, and the extent to which each one can achieve certainty. Drawing on his own work in geometry, optics, astronomy and physiology, Descartes developed the hypothetical method that characterizes modern science, and this soon came to replace the traditional techniques derived from Aristotle. Many of Descartes’ most radical ideas—such as the disparity between our perceptions and the realities that cause them—have been highly influential in the development of modern philosophy.This edition sets the Discourse on Method in the wider context of Descartes’ work, with the Rules for Guiding One’s Intelligence in Searching for the Truth (1628), extracts from The World (1633) and selected letters from 1636-9. A companion volume, Meditations and Other Metaphysical Writings, is also published in Penguin Classics. For more than seventy years, Penguin has been the leading publisher of classic literature in the English-speaking world. With more than 1,700 titles, Penguin Classics represents a global bookshelf of the best works throughout history and across genres and disciplines. Readers trust the series to provide authoritative texts enhanced by introductions and notes by distinguished scholars and contemporary authors, as well as up-to-date translations by award-winning translators.

Several of Descarte''s most ground-breaking essays and philosophic treatises are contained in this quality edition. Written by René Descartes in the 17th century and counted among the first great philosophic works of Enlightenment era, these papers contain the philosopher''s thoughts on physical objects, presence and being. Descartes describes a series of vivid dreams which, for their realism, leave him in doubt as to whether he does indeed possess a body or whether it is merely an illusion. Descartes reflects upon the nature of dreams, and wonders whether their strangeness is not a consequence of God playing a trick with his mind. Discounting God as the culprit, Descartes instead places responsibility of the illusion of reality at the feet of a ''malignant demon''. The translations present in this edition were composed by the Scottish poet and scholar of philosophy John Vietch, whose academic career at The University of St. Andrews in Fife provided a firm grounding in the philosophic disciplines.

Rene Descartes is often credited with being the "Father of Modern Philosophy." This title is justified due both to his break with the traditional Scholastic-Aristotelian philosophy prevalent at his time and to his development and promotion of the new, mechanistic sciences. His fundamental break with Scholastic philosophy was twofold. First, Descartes thought that the Scholastics'' method was prone to doubt given their reliance on sensation as the source for all knowledge. Second, he wanted to replace their final causal model of scientific explanation with the more modern, mechanistic model. Descartes attempted to address the former issue via his method of doubt. His basic strategy was to consider false any belief that falls prey to even the slightest doubt. This "hyperbolic doubt" then serves to clear the way for what Descartes considers to be an unprejudiced search for the truth. This clearing of his previously held beliefs then puts him at an epistemological ground-zero. From here Descartes sets out to find something that lies beyond all doubt. He eventually discovers that "I exist" is impossible to doubt and is, therefore, absolutely certain. It is from this point that Descartes proceeds to demonstrate God''s existence and that God cannot be a deceiver. This, in turn, serves to fix the certainty of everything that is clearly and distinctly understood and provides the epistemological foundation Descartes set out to find. Once this conclusion is reached, Descartes can proceed to rebuild his system of previously dubious beliefs on this absolutely certain foundation. These beliefs, which are re-established with absolute certainty, include the existence of a world of bodies external to the mind, the dualistic distinction of the immaterial mind from the body, and his mechanistic model of physics based on the clear and distinct ideas of geometry. This points toward his second, major break with the Scholastic Aristotelian tradition in that Descartes intended to replace their system based on final causal explanations with his system based on mechanistic principles. Descartes also applied this mechanistic framework to the operation of plant, animal and human bodies, sensation and the passions. All of this eventually culminating in a moral system based on the notion of "generosity." The presentation below provides an overview of Descartes'' philosophical thought as it relates to these various metaphysical, epistemological, religious, moral and scientific issues, covering the wide range of his published works and correspondence."

Author names not noted above: J.J. Rousseau and Thomas Hobbes. Originally published between 1909 and 1917 under the name "Harvard Classics," this stupendous 51-volume set-a collection of the greatest writings from literature, philosophy, history, and mythology-was assembled by American academic CHARLES WILLIAM ELIOT (1834-1926), Harvard University''s longest-serving president. Also known as "Dr. Eliot''s Five Foot Shelf," it represented Eliot''s belief that a basic liberal education could be gleaned by reading from an anthology of works that could fit on five feet of bookshelf. Volume XXXIV features great works by French and English philosophers of the 17th and 18th centuries: [ "Discourse on the Method of Rightly Conducting the Reason and Seeking the Truth in the Sciences," by REN DESCARTES (1596-1650) [ "Letters on the English," by Franois-Marie Arouet (1694-1778), aka VOLTAIRE [ "Discourse Upon the Origin and the Foundation of the Inequality Among Mankind" and "Profession of Faith of a Savoyard Vicar," by JEAN JACQUES ROUSSEAU (1712-1778) [ "Of Man, Being the First Part of Leviathan," by THOMAS HOBBES (1588-1679)

A Discourse on Method By Descartes Rene

The book is made up of six meditations, in which Descartes first discards all belief in things which are not absolutely certain, and then tries to establish what can be known for sure. The meditations were written as if he were meditating for 6 days: each meditation refers to the last one as "yesterday"

Discourse on the Method is one of the most influential works in the history of modern philosophy, and important to the development of natural sciences.In this work, Descartes tackles the problem of skepticism, which had previously been studied by other philosophers. While addressing some of his predecessors and contemporaries, Descartes modified their approach to account for a truth he found to be incontrovertible; he started his line of reasoning by doubting everything, so as to assess the world from a fresh perspective, clear of any preconceived notions.

Discourse on the Method of Rightly Conducting One''s Reason and of Seeking Truth in the Sciences (French: Discours de la Méthode Pour bien conduire sa raison, et chercher la vérité dans les sciences) is a philosophical and autobiographical treatise by René Descartes. Discourse on the Method is one of the most influential works in the history of modern philosophy, and important to the development of natural sciences. In this work, Descartes tackles the problem of skepticism, which had previously been studied by other philosophers. While addressing some of his predecessors and contemporaries, Descartes modified their approach to account for a truth he found to be incontrovertible; he started his line of reasoning by doubting everything, so as to assess the world from a fresh perspective, clear of any preconceived notions. Together with Meditations on First Philosophy, Principles of Philosophy and Rules for the Direction of the Mind, it forms the base of the epistemology known as Cartesianism.

This collection of the works of Descartes contains the following books with book and chapter links for easier and practical read-through experience: Discourse On MethodThe Meditations On The First PhilosophyThe Principles of Philosophy 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.

When you want to read in both French and English, though, there

This work has been selected by scholars as being culturally important, and is part of the knowledge base of civilization as we know it. This work was reproduced from the original artifact, and remains as true to the original work as possible. Therefore, you will see the original copyright references, library stamps (as most of these works have been housed in our most important libraries around the world), and other notations in the work. This work is in the public domain in the United States of America, and possibly other nations. Within the United States, you may freely copy and distribute this work, as no entity (individual or corporate) has a copyright on the body of the work. As a reproduction of a historical artifact, this work may contain missing or blurred pages, poor pictures, errant marks, etc. Scholars believe, and we concur, that this work is important enough to be preserved, reproduced, and made generally available to the public. We appreciate your support of the preservation process, and thank you for being an important part of keeping this knowledge alive and relevant.

This work has been selected by scholars as being culturally important and is part of the knowledge base of civilization as we know it. This work is in the public domain in the United States of America, and possibly other nations. Within the United States, you may freely copy and distribute this work, as no entity (individual or corporate) has a copyright on the body of the work. Scholars believe, and we concur, that this work is important enough to be preserved, reproduced, and made generally available to the public. To ensure a quality reading experience, this work has been proofread and republished using a format that seamlessly blends the original graphical elements with text in an easy-to-read typeface. We appreciate your support of the preservation process, and thank you for being an important part of keeping this knowledge alive and relevant.

This work has been selected by scholars as being culturally important, and is part of the knowledge base of civilization as we know it. This work was reproduced from the original artifact, and remains as true to the original work as possible. Therefore, you will see the original copyright references, library stamps (as most of these works have been housed in our most important libraries around the world), and other notations in the work. This work is in the public domain in the United States of America, and possibly other nations. Within the United States, you may freely copy and distribute this work, as no entity (individual or corporate) has a copyright on the body of the work.As a reproduction of a historical artifact, this work may contain missing or blurred pages, poor pictures, errant marks, etc. Scholars believe, and we concur, that this work is important enough to be preserved, reproduced, and made generally available to the public. We appreciate your support of the preservation process, and thank you for being an important part of keeping this knowledge alive and relevant.

Discourse on the Method: Large Printby René DescartesOne of the most influential books ever written, Descartes'' Discourse on the Method delves into some of the most basic and profound philosophical problems facing humanity. Follow this great mind through the logical processes that ultimately led him to conclude, "I think, therefore I am"-and to change Western philosophy forever in the process.

Discourse on the Method of Rightly Conducting One''s Reason and of Seeking Truth in the Sciences is a philosophical and autobiographical treatise published by René Descartes in 1637. It is best known as the source of the famous quotation "Je pense, donc je suis", which occurs in Part IV of the work.