Meditations on First Philosophy

by René Descartes

Overview

The appearance of "Meditations on First Philosophy" in 1641 marked a dramatic turning point in the history of Western thought.

In "Meditations on the First Philosophy", René Descartes delves into epistemology, or the theory of knowledge. He asks questions such as whether there is such a thing as knowledge, and if so, what distinguishes it from opinion. However, in order to answer these questions and to validate knowledge, it was necessary to raise the fundamental questions of being.

Descartes chooses to present his thoughts as meditations; he represents himself as seated before a fire in a cozy Dutch dwelling, wrapped in his dressing gown, freed from worldly care, and ready to devote himself to a task to which he had for some time looked forward, a kind of mental housecleaning. On six successive days, he pursues his meditation, step by step, clearing his mind of all error.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9788834159361
Publisher:	E-BOOKARAMA
Publication date:	03/31/2024
Sold by:	StreetLib SRL
Format:	eBook
Sales rank:	290,855
File size:	1 MB

About the Author

Andrew Bailey is Professor of Philosophy and Associate Dean of Arts at the University of Guelph. He is editor of The Broadview Introduction to Philosophy.

Ian Johnston is an Emeritus Professor at Vancouver Island University and has translated several works from Greek, French, German, and Latin.

Table of Contents

Introduction

Translator’s Note

Meditations on First Philosophy

Dedication to the Sorbonne

Preface to the Reader

Synopsis of the Six Following Meditations

• First Meditation: Concerning Those Things Which Can Be Called into Doubt
  
  Second Meditation: Concerning the Nature of the Human Mind and the Fact that It Is Easier to Know than the Body
  
  Third Meditation: Concerning God and the Fact that He Exists
  
  Fourth Meditation: Concerning Truth and Falsity
  
  Fifth Meditation: Concerning the Essence of Material Things, and, Once Again, Concerning the Fact that God Exists
  
  Sixth Meditation: Concerning the Existence of Material Things and the Real Distinction between Mind and Body

Index

Editorial Reviews

Broadview Press has produced an excellent translation of Descartes’s famous Meditations on First Philosophy. It is accurate, philosophically sensitive, and it rivals any of the translations currently available. Andrew Bailey’s introduction of the text, and his biography of Descartes, is a real plus, and will serve students well.” — Kurt Smith, Bloomsburg University of Pennsylvania

“A very helpful translation. The language is clear, and the supplementary material and notes lay out a cross-section of the interpretive debates, and provide tips for how a reader might approach them.” — David Cunning, University of Iowa

“Descartes was living and writing at a tumultuous time, and Bailey does a nice job of sketching the intellectual environment into which the Meditations was launched, while pre-emptively warding off a number of common misunderstandings of Descartes’s aims.” — Seth Bordner, University of Alabama

From the Publisher

"Descartes was living and writing at a tumultuous time, and Bailey does a nice job of sketching the intellectual environment into which the Meditations was launched, while pre-emptively warding off a number of common misunderstandings of Descartes's aims."

Seth Bordner

"A very helpful translation. The language is clear, and the supplementary material and notes lay out a cross-section of the interpretive debates, and provide tips for how a reader might approach them."

David Cunning

"Broadview Press has produced an excellent translation of Descartes's famous Meditations on First Philosophy. It is accurate, philosophically sensitive, and it rivals any of the translations currently available. Andrew Bailey's introduction of the text, and his biography of Descartes, is a real plus, and will serve students well."

Kurt Smith