Rene Descartes

Gebundenes Buch

Discourse on Method and Meditations on First Philosophy (Hardcover)

Beschreibung

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.

Autor

René Descartes (1596-1650) was a pioneering metaphysician, a masterful mathematician, and a significant scientific thinker. He was primarily a mathematician throughout his life, followed by a natural scientist or "natural philosopher" and a metaphysician. He created the methods in mathematics that allowed for algebraic (or "analytic") geometry. He co-formulated the sine rule of refraction, created a significant empirical account of the rainbow, and proposed a naturalistic explanation for how the earth and planets formed in natural philosophy, among other notable accomplishments. A world of matter with a few basic properties and interacting according to a few universal principles was his new conception of the natural world, which has influenced how we think about it even today. Descartes created the contemporary interpretation of the mind-body problem by proposing that this natural world had an immaterial mind that was directly tied to the brain in humans. He offered proof for the existence of God in metaphysics, demonstrating that the nature of matter is an extension and the essence of the mind is thought. Early on, Descartes asserted that he had a unique method, which he later claimed to have used in metaphysics, natural philosophy, and many applications of mathematics.

Produktdetails

• Verlag: Lulu.com
• Seitenzahl: 96
• Erscheinungstermin: 22. Mai 2018
• Englisch
• Abmessung: 235mm x 157mm x 10mm
• Gewicht: 288g
• ISBN-13: 9781387829316
• ISBN-10: 1387829319
• Artikelnr.: 54312687