DESCARTES AND THE MEDITATIONS

Rene Descartes is generally accepted as the "father of modern philosophy", and his Meditations is perhaps the most famous philosophical text ever written.In this Routledge Philosophy GuideBook, Gary Hatfield guides the reader through the text of the Meditations, providing commentary and analysis throughout. He assesses Descartes' importance in the history of philosophy and his continuing relevance to contemporary thought.Descartes and the Meditations will be essential reading for all students of philosophy, and for anyone coming to Descartes for the first time.

Preface. Abbreviations. Part One: Overview 1. Descartes' project 2. Reading the Meditations. Part Two: The Arguments of the Six Meditations 3. Withdrawing the mind from the senses 4. Discovering the nature of mind 5. Truth, God, and the circle 6. Judgement, error, and freedom 7. Matter, God, and the circle again 8. The natural world and the mind-body distinction. Part Three: Beyond the Meditations 9. The new science: Physics, physiology, and the passions 10. Legacy and contribution. Appendices. Table. Bibliography. Index.