Descartes' Philosophy of Science

Descartes' Philosophy of Science

Author: Desmond M. Clarke

Publisher: Manchester University Press

Published: 1982

Total Pages: 272

ISBN-13: 9780719008689

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Book Synopsis Descartes' Philosophy of Science by : Desmond M. Clarke

Download or read book Descartes' Philosophy of Science written by Desmond M. Clarke and published by Manchester University Press. This book was released on 1982 with total page 272 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:


Descartes' Philosophy of Science

Descartes' Philosophy of Science

Author: Desmond M. Clarke

Publisher: Penn State University Press

Published: 1982

Total Pages: 272

ISBN-13:

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This major new study of Descartes explores a number of key issues, including his use of experience and reason in science; the metaphysical foundations of Cartesian science; the Cartesian concept of explanation and proof; and an empiricist interpretation of the Regulae and the Discourse. Dr. Clarke argues that labels such as empiricism and rationalism are useless for understanding Descartes because, at least in his scientific methodology, he is very much an Aristotelian for whom reflection on ordinary experience is the primary source of scientific hypotheses. Descartes traditionally has been presented as a classic example of rationalism in science, especially by philosophers who concentrated their attention on the Meditations or the Discourse. A different perspective is gained by reading Descartes as a practicing scientist and by examining his scientific work and correspondence with other seventeenth-century scientists. These texts suggest that the author relies very much on experience, and in some cases on scientific experiments to support his theories or to dispute those of others. Descartes scientific practice is even consistent with a less rationalistic interpretation of the Regulae and the Discourse than is normally defended.


Book Synopsis Descartes' Philosophy of Science by : Desmond M. Clarke

Download or read book Descartes' Philosophy of Science written by Desmond M. Clarke and published by Penn State University Press. This book was released on 1982 with total page 272 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This major new study of Descartes explores a number of key issues, including his use of experience and reason in science; the metaphysical foundations of Cartesian science; the Cartesian concept of explanation and proof; and an empiricist interpretation of the Regulae and the Discourse. Dr. Clarke argues that labels such as empiricism and rationalism are useless for understanding Descartes because, at least in his scientific methodology, he is very much an Aristotelian for whom reflection on ordinary experience is the primary source of scientific hypotheses. Descartes traditionally has been presented as a classic example of rationalism in science, especially by philosophers who concentrated their attention on the Meditations or the Discourse. A different perspective is gained by reading Descartes as a practicing scientist and by examining his scientific work and correspondence with other seventeenth-century scientists. These texts suggest that the author relies very much on experience, and in some cases on scientific experiments to support his theories or to dispute those of others. Descartes scientific practice is even consistent with a less rationalistic interpretation of the Regulae and the Discourse than is normally defended.


Essays on the Philosophy and Science of René Descartes

Essays on the Philosophy and Science of René Descartes

Author: Stephen Voss

Publisher: Oxford University Press, USA

Published: 1993

Total Pages: 361

ISBN-13: 019507551X

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In English, with some essays translated from French. Includes bibliographical references and index.


Book Synopsis Essays on the Philosophy and Science of René Descartes by : Stephen Voss

Download or read book Essays on the Philosophy and Science of René Descartes written by Stephen Voss and published by Oxford University Press, USA. This book was released on 1993 with total page 361 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: In English, with some essays translated from French. Includes bibliographical references and index.


The Good Life in the Scientific Revolution

The Good Life in the Scientific Revolution

Author: Matthew L. Jones

Publisher: University of Chicago Press

Published: 2008-09-15

Total Pages: 809

ISBN-13: 0226409562

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Amid the unrest, dislocation, and uncertainty of seventeenth-century Europe, readers seeking consolation and assurance turned to philosophical and scientific books that offered ways of conquering fears and training the mind—guidance for living a good life. The Good Life in the Scientific Revolution presents a triptych showing how three key early modern scientists, René Descartes, Blaise Pascal, and Gottfried Leibniz, envisioned their new work as useful for cultivating virtue and for pursuing a good life. Their scientific and philosophical innovations stemmed in part from their understanding of mathematics and science as cognitive and spiritual exercises that could create a truer mental and spiritual nobility. In portraying the rich contexts surrounding Descartes’ geometry, Pascal’s arithmetical triangle, and Leibniz’s calculus, Matthew L. Jones argues that this drive for moral therapeutics guided important developments of early modern philosophy and the Scientific Revolution.


Book Synopsis The Good Life in the Scientific Revolution by : Matthew L. Jones

Download or read book The Good Life in the Scientific Revolution written by Matthew L. Jones and published by University of Chicago Press. This book was released on 2008-09-15 with total page 809 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Amid the unrest, dislocation, and uncertainty of seventeenth-century Europe, readers seeking consolation and assurance turned to philosophical and scientific books that offered ways of conquering fears and training the mind—guidance for living a good life. The Good Life in the Scientific Revolution presents a triptych showing how three key early modern scientists, René Descartes, Blaise Pascal, and Gottfried Leibniz, envisioned their new work as useful for cultivating virtue and for pursuing a good life. Their scientific and philosophical innovations stemmed in part from their understanding of mathematics and science as cognitive and spiritual exercises that could create a truer mental and spiritual nobility. In portraying the rich contexts surrounding Descartes’ geometry, Pascal’s arithmetical triangle, and Leibniz’s calculus, Matthew L. Jones argues that this drive for moral therapeutics guided important developments of early modern philosophy and the Scientific Revolution.


Descartes and the Possibility of Science

Descartes and the Possibility of Science

Author: Peter A. Schouls

Publisher: Cornell University Press

Published: 2000

Total Pages: 202

ISBN-13: 9780801437755

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Joining these topics together within the context of Cartesian doctrine, Schouls opens up a substantially new reading of the Meditations and a more complete picture of Descartes as a scientist."--BOOK JACKET.


Book Synopsis Descartes and the Possibility of Science by : Peter A. Schouls

Download or read book Descartes and the Possibility of Science written by Peter A. Schouls and published by Cornell University Press. This book was released on 2000 with total page 202 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Joining these topics together within the context of Cartesian doctrine, Schouls opens up a substantially new reading of the Meditations and a more complete picture of Descartes as a scientist."--BOOK JACKET.


Descartes and the Enlightenment

Descartes and the Enlightenment

Author: Peter A. Schouls

Publisher: McGill-Queen's Press - MQUP

Published: 1989-02-01

Total Pages: 207

ISBN-13: 077356408X

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Schouls limits himself to a discussion of these three concepts in order to escape facile and vague generalizations. For the same reason, in relating Descartes to eighteenth-century thinkers, Schouls limits his attention to a single part of the spectrum of acknowledged Enlightenment reflection, the French "philosopes." From their writings he demonstrates that they are, and acknowledge themselves to be, Descartes' progeny.


Book Synopsis Descartes and the Enlightenment by : Peter A. Schouls

Download or read book Descartes and the Enlightenment written by Peter A. Schouls and published by McGill-Queen's Press - MQUP. This book was released on 1989-02-01 with total page 207 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Schouls limits himself to a discussion of these three concepts in order to escape facile and vague generalizations. For the same reason, in relating Descartes to eighteenth-century thinkers, Schouls limits his attention to a single part of the spectrum of acknowledged Enlightenment reflection, the French "philosopes." From their writings he demonstrates that they are, and acknowledge themselves to be, Descartes' progeny.


Descartes Embodied

Descartes Embodied

Author: Daniel Garber

Publisher: Cambridge University Press

Published: 2001

Total Pages: 354

ISBN-13: 9780521789738

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A central theme unifying the essays in this volume on the work of Descartes is the interconnection between Descartes' philosophical and scientific interests, and the extent to which these two sides of the Cartesian programme illuminate each other.


Book Synopsis Descartes Embodied by : Daniel Garber

Download or read book Descartes Embodied written by Daniel Garber and published by Cambridge University Press. This book was released on 2001 with total page 354 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: A central theme unifying the essays in this volume on the work of Descartes is the interconnection between Descartes' philosophical and scientific interests, and the extent to which these two sides of the Cartesian programme illuminate each other.


Descartes' Metaphysical Physics

Descartes' Metaphysical Physics

Author: Daniel Garber

Publisher: University of Chicago Press

Published: 1992-05

Total Pages: 416

ISBN-13: 9780226282176

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In this first book-length treatment of Descartes' important and influential natural philosophy, Daniel Garber is principally concerned with Descartes' accounts of matter and motion—the joint between Descartes' philosophical and scientific interests. These accounts constitute the point at which the metaphysical doctrines on God, the soul, and body, developed in writings like the Meditations, give rise to physical conclusions regarding atoms, vacua, and the laws that matter in motion must obey. Garber achieves a philosophically rigorous reading of Descartes that is sensitive to the historical and intellectual context in which he wrote. What emerges is a novel view of this familiar figure, at once unexpected and truer to the historical Descartes. The book begins with a discussion of Descartes' intellectual development and the larger project that frames his natural philosophy, the complete reform of all the sciences. After this introduction Garber thoroughly examines various aspects of Descartes' physics: the notion of body and its identification with extension; Descartes' rejection of the substantial forms of the scholastics; his relation to the atomistic tradition of atoms and the void; the concept of motion and the laws of motion, including Descartes' conservation principle, his laws of the persistence of motion, and his collision law; and the grounding of his laws in God.


Book Synopsis Descartes' Metaphysical Physics by : Daniel Garber

Download or read book Descartes' Metaphysical Physics written by Daniel Garber and published by University of Chicago Press. This book was released on 1992-05 with total page 416 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: In this first book-length treatment of Descartes' important and influential natural philosophy, Daniel Garber is principally concerned with Descartes' accounts of matter and motion—the joint between Descartes' philosophical and scientific interests. These accounts constitute the point at which the metaphysical doctrines on God, the soul, and body, developed in writings like the Meditations, give rise to physical conclusions regarding atoms, vacua, and the laws that matter in motion must obey. Garber achieves a philosophically rigorous reading of Descartes that is sensitive to the historical and intellectual context in which he wrote. What emerges is a novel view of this familiar figure, at once unexpected and truer to the historical Descartes. The book begins with a discussion of Descartes' intellectual development and the larger project that frames his natural philosophy, the complete reform of all the sciences. After this introduction Garber thoroughly examines various aspects of Descartes' physics: the notion of body and its identification with extension; Descartes' rejection of the substantial forms of the scholastics; his relation to the atomistic tradition of atoms and the void; the concept of motion and the laws of motion, including Descartes' conservation principle, his laws of the persistence of motion, and his collision law; and the grounding of his laws in God.


Essays on the Philosophy and Science of René Descartes

Essays on the Philosophy and Science of René Descartes

Author: Stephen Voss

Publisher: Oxford University Press

Published: 1993-02-04

Total Pages: 361

ISBN-13: 0195360540

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A major contribution to Descartes studies, this book provides a panorama of cutting-edge scholarship ranging widely over Descartes's own primary concerns: metaphysics, physics, and its applications. It is at once a tool for scholars and--steering clear of technical Cartesian science--an accessible resource that will delight nonspecialists. The contributors include Edwin Curley, Willis Doney, Alan Gabbey, Daniel Garber, Marjorie Grene, Gary Hatfield, Marleen Rozemond, John Schuster, Dennis Sepper, Stephen Voss, Stephen Wagner, Margaret Welson, Jean Marie Beyssade, Michelle Beyssade, Michel Henry, Evert van Leeuwen, Jean-Luc Marion, Geneviève Rodis-Lewis, and Jean-Pierre Séris. Combining new textual sensitivity with attentiveness to history, they represent the best established scholars and most exciting new voices, including both English speaking and newly-translated writers. Part I examines the foundations of Descartes's philosophy: Cartesian certainty; the phenomenology of the cogito and its modulations in the passions; and the defensibility and comprehensibility of the Cartesian God. The second part examines Descartes's groundbreaking metaphysics: mind's distinctness from and interaction with body; imagination; perception; and language. Part III examines Cartesian science: the revolutionary rhetoric of the Rules and the Discourse; the metaphysical foundations of physics; the interplay of rationalism and empiricism; the mechanics and human biology that flow from Descartes's physics.


Book Synopsis Essays on the Philosophy and Science of René Descartes by : Stephen Voss

Download or read book Essays on the Philosophy and Science of René Descartes written by Stephen Voss and published by Oxford University Press. This book was released on 1993-02-04 with total page 361 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: A major contribution to Descartes studies, this book provides a panorama of cutting-edge scholarship ranging widely over Descartes's own primary concerns: metaphysics, physics, and its applications. It is at once a tool for scholars and--steering clear of technical Cartesian science--an accessible resource that will delight nonspecialists. The contributors include Edwin Curley, Willis Doney, Alan Gabbey, Daniel Garber, Marjorie Grene, Gary Hatfield, Marleen Rozemond, John Schuster, Dennis Sepper, Stephen Voss, Stephen Wagner, Margaret Welson, Jean Marie Beyssade, Michelle Beyssade, Michel Henry, Evert van Leeuwen, Jean-Luc Marion, Geneviève Rodis-Lewis, and Jean-Pierre Séris. Combining new textual sensitivity with attentiveness to history, they represent the best established scholars and most exciting new voices, including both English speaking and newly-translated writers. Part I examines the foundations of Descartes's philosophy: Cartesian certainty; the phenomenology of the cogito and its modulations in the passions; and the defensibility and comprehensibility of the Cartesian God. The second part examines Descartes's groundbreaking metaphysics: mind's distinctness from and interaction with body; imagination; perception; and language. Part III examines Cartesian science: the revolutionary rhetoric of the Rules and the Discourse; the metaphysical foundations of physics; the interplay of rationalism and empiricism; the mechanics and human biology that flow from Descartes's physics.


Physics and Metaphysics in Descartes and in his Reception

Physics and Metaphysics in Descartes and in his Reception

Author: Delphine Antoine-Mahut

Publisher: Routledge

Published: 2018-09-14

Total Pages: 292

ISBN-13: 0429787553

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This volume explores the relationship between physics and metaphysics in Descartes’ philosophy. According to the standard account, Descartes modified the objects of metaphysics and physics and inverted the order in which these two disciplines were traditionally studied. This book challenges the standard account in which Descartes prioritizes metaphysics over physics. It does so by taking into consideration the historical reception of Descartes and the ways in which Descartes himself reacted to these receptions in his own lifetime. The book stresses the diversity of these receptions by taking into account not only Cartesianisms but also anti-Cartesianisms, and by showing how they retroactively highlighted different aspects of Descartes’ works and theoretical choices. The historical aspect of the volume is unique in that it not only analyzes different constructions of Descartes that emerged in the 18th, 19th and 20th centuries, but also reflects on how his work was first read by philosophers across Europe. Taken together, the essays in this volume offer a fresh and up-to-date contribution to this important debate in early modern philosophy.


Book Synopsis Physics and Metaphysics in Descartes and in his Reception by : Delphine Antoine-Mahut

Download or read book Physics and Metaphysics in Descartes and in his Reception written by Delphine Antoine-Mahut and published by Routledge. This book was released on 2018-09-14 with total page 292 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This volume explores the relationship between physics and metaphysics in Descartes’ philosophy. According to the standard account, Descartes modified the objects of metaphysics and physics and inverted the order in which these two disciplines were traditionally studied. This book challenges the standard account in which Descartes prioritizes metaphysics over physics. It does so by taking into consideration the historical reception of Descartes and the ways in which Descartes himself reacted to these receptions in his own lifetime. The book stresses the diversity of these receptions by taking into account not only Cartesianisms but also anti-Cartesianisms, and by showing how they retroactively highlighted different aspects of Descartes’ works and theoretical choices. The historical aspect of the volume is unique in that it not only analyzes different constructions of Descartes that emerged in the 18th, 19th and 20th centuries, but also reflects on how his work was first read by philosophers across Europe. Taken together, the essays in this volume offer a fresh and up-to-date contribution to this important debate in early modern philosophy.