Descartes (Past Masters)

by Tom Sorell

Book Overview

Rene Descartes had a remarkably short working life, yet his contribution to philosophy and physics have endured to this day. He is perhaps best known for his statement, "Cogito, ergo sum, " the... This description may be from another edition of this product.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 019287635X
• Release Date: May 1987
• Publisher: Oxford University Press
• Length: 126 Pages
• Weight: 0.25 lbs.
• Dimensions: 7.8" x 0.4" x 5.1"

Customer Reviews

Clear, Informative Introduction to Descartes

This is an enjoyable and informative introduction to Descartes, his work, and his philosophy. Some may hesitate to delve into Descartes work because of its complexity and denseness of thought, but this "very short introduction" comes to the rescue, orienting us to Descartes' major ideas, their developmental history, and the context in which he developed them. The book is greatly interesting to read, and even the discourses on some of Descartes' more conceptual thought are treated with exceptional clarity. Although the book focuses on the developmental history of Descartes' investigation into the sciences (particularly in optics), the book also discusses his contributions to mathematical geometry, as well as some of his thoughts on faith and reason. If you are looking for an introduction to Descartes, it is hard to go wrong with this well-written and enjoyable pocket volume.

The Ghost of Descartes is still with us

Descartes is one of the most influential Western philosophers, and this book is a useful first introduction to his life and ideas. The strength of the book is in positioning Descartes' writing primarily within the political and ideological currents of his time, and showing how exactly he's been forced to edit and finesse his writings in order to please the censorship and his critics. This helps explain why some of his works were not as straightforwardly written as one might have liked. The other reason has probably to do with the sheer ambition of Descartes' chief enterprise, to discover one sure method of arriving at explanations and solutions of the most pressing scientific and philosophical problems of the time. The enormity of this scope meant that some of these methods would necessarily be to vague to be of any practical use in mathematics or physics, and within a generation after Descartes' death Newtonian gravitation completely prevailed. However, in the realm of philosophy, Descarts' thought managed to be of interest until the present day. This book is very well written, and if you are interested in finding out more about Descartes, it would be a worthwhile first read.

Not the Descartes of the philosophy text- book

This work does not approach Descartes in the usual way: i.e. by showing his place in the Western philosophical tradition, and especially showing how the modern age in Thought began with his cogito. It tries instead to give a more complete picture of Descartes interests and activities, with focus on his mathematical physics, and scientific work. There is also a brief telling of the life of Descartes who Sorrell believes was less isolated than he is usually made out to be. There is one painful detail. Descartes said that the greatest sorrow of his life was the loss when she was only five of his out-of- wedlock daughter. Descartes religious faith is also discussed. The suggestion however is that of all his work it is the famous 'I think therefore I am' which is most responsible for his continuing fame.

Useful for novices and advanced students alike.

Those who have not yet studied Descartes will enjoy this clearly written introduction to Descartes' life and thought. However, even seasoned philosophy students are also liable to find much of interest in Sorell's DESCARTES. For most philosophy students, Descartes is more or less synonymous with the DISCOURSE ON METHOD and the MEDITATIONS ON FIRST PHILOSOPHY, and Descartes' scientific and mathematical work tend to be regarded as almost irrelevant and disconnected afterthoughts. The brilliance of Sorell's book is to show how Descartes' work constitutes an integrated whole, where the DISCOURSE and the MEDITATIONS are more a preliminary step in Descartes' project than the endpoint of his philosophy that we often take it to be.

An excellent book to get to know Descartes

It is a really easy-to-read book. People who just start to be interested in Philosophy will not find this book intimadating or overwhelming. The author also points out and explains the "errors" of Descartes's thinking. An excellent book to be added to your collection.