Discourse on the Method and Meditations on First Philosophy / Edition 1

by René Descartes, David Weissman

Overview

Descartes' ideas not only changed the course of Western philosophy but also led to or transformed the fields of metaphysics, epistemology, physics and mathematics, political theory and ethics, psychoanalysis, and literature and the arts. This book reprints Descartes' major works, Discourse on Method and Meditations, and presents essays by leading scholars that explore his contributions in each of those fields and place his ideas in the context of his time and our own. There are chapters by David Weissman on metaphysics and psychoanalysis, John Post on epistemology, Lou Massa on physics and mathematics, William T. Bluhm on politics and ethics, and Thomas Pavel on literature and art. These essays are accompanied by others by David Weissman and by Stephen Toulmin that introduce the idea of intellectual lineages, discuss the period in which Descartes wrote, and reexamine the premises of his philosophy in light of contemporary philosophical, political, and social thinking.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780300067736
Publisher:	Yale University Press
Publication date:	08/28/1996
Series:	Rethinking the Western Tradition
Edition description:	New Edition
Pages:	400
Product dimensions:	5.50(w) x 8.25(h) x (d)
Lexile:	1720L (what's this?)

About the Author

David Weissman is professor of philosophy at the City College of the City University of New York. William T. Bluhm is professor of political science emeritus at the University of Rochester. Lou Massa is professor of chemistry and physics at Hunter College and the Graduate School of the City University of New York. Thomas Pavel is professor of French and comparative literature at Princeton University. John F. Post is professor of philosophy at Vanderbilt University. Stephen Toulmin is Henry Luce Professor at the Center for Multiethnic and Transnational Studies at the University of Southern California.

Editorial Reviews

Contains English translations of Descartes' 1637 treatise and a subsequent development of the ideas contained in it, , first published in 1641. Includes a selected bibliography. Annotation c. Book News, Inc., Portland, OR (booknew.com)

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