Descartes' Meditation on First Philosophy

by David Mills Daniel

Descartes' Meditations on First Philosophy was published in 1641, designed for the philosopher and for the theologian. It consists of six meditations, Of the Things that we may doubt, Of the Nature of the Human Mind, Of God: that He exists, Of Truth and Error, Of the Essence of Material Things, Of the Existence of Material Things and of the Real Distinction between the Mind and the Body of Man. However many scientists were opposed to Descartes' ideas, even in his own lifetime. Although famous as a mathematician, his mechanics of how the world exists, were proven not to be possible by Newton. This did not stop his ideas being championed in Europe for over a hundred years. His philosophy is one that students cannot be without and this Briefly provides a thorough and accessible guide to one of his most important works.

80 pages, ebook

First published October 27, 2011

About the author

Hi there.

I am David Mills Daniel, author of the 'Briefly' series.

Over the past few years, a major focus of my life has been developing and writing my 'Briefly' series of guide yo key texts in philosophy, phiosophy of religion, religious studies and ethics. 21 classic texts guides have now been published.

A major aim of the series is to enable school and university/college students to acquire knowledge and understanding of the texts and of the thinking of the philosophers who wrote them. The series is also designed to make the texts, and philosophical ideas generally, more accessible to those who would like to know more about the subject, and to encourage people to discover for hemselves what philosophy has to offer.

One of my greatest pleasures in life is discussing philosophy with those who do not think it has much to offer them. A lot of people believe that philosophy is remote from everyday life, belongs in the study or lecture room, and is for those who are able to devote their lives to thinking, rather than doing.

Well, yes. Philosophy is thinking about things, but that includes all the issues which matter to everyone: the nature of the world we inhabit; our responsibilities to others; how we should live our livves; the sort of priorities we should have; what sort of society we want; our relationships; the values we should hand on to our children; and so on.

So, philosophy is not just a subject for university professors. Indeed, many of the great philosophers, like John Locke, David Hume and John Stuart Mill, were active in the wider world, and earned their living frtom jobs which has nothing to do with philosophy or teaching it. But, all of them thought and wrote about the big issues of life. And, a great deal of what they have to say is stimulating and challenging; some of it is controversial. Furthermore, it is relevant to our lives today.

Through studying philosophy, we can bring the thinking of the geat philosophers to bear on the challenges, issues and questions we face today, as human beings, citizens, members of society and individuals with relationships, responsibilities, conncerns and uncertainties. We can learn from them, and their thoughts and ideas can help us to answrr some of the questions we face. At least, they can help us to understand the questions more clearly.

My 'SCM AS/A2 Ethics and Moral Philosophy', which supports the teaching of AS-level philosophy and religious studies, but which will also be of interest to general leaders who want an easy-to-follow guide to these fascinating and important areas of
philosophy, was published in 2009.