Descartes

Past Masters (Oxford)

by Tom Sorell

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 cornerstone of his metaphysics. Descartes did not intend the metaphysics to stand apart from his
scientific work, which included important investigations into physics, mathematics, and optics. In this book, Sorell shows that Descarates was, above all, an advocate and practitioner of the new mathematical approach to physics, and that he developed his philosophies to support his discoveries in
the sciences.

Genres: Philosophy, Nonfiction, Biography

128 pages, Paperback

First published May 14, 1987

Reviews

[sarah · Rating 5 out of 5]

descartes past masters took quite a bit of mental power to read but was very worth it. what stood out was how metaphysics and science were closely connected. i found it almost funny that he claimed to have done “nothing” for nine years but converse with people, but i'm sure it tremendously influenced his system of thought, specifically the demon concept. i honestly hope he's correct about everything. there are many other topics i wont be listing but explaining senses, terrestrial bodies, souls, and the structure of the universe to a seventeenth century audience seems unimaginable to me. it's also impressive that he was mindful of how the church would perceive his work while still pushing boundaries. although his descriptions can be obscure, i was still following most of what i read. the points in the book support my understanding of reality since i'm big on innate abilities already. all in all, i thoroughly enjoyed this one and mostly because i couldn't find anything problematic (as far as i can understand).

[Mohammad Mirzaali · Rating 3 out of 5]

تفاوت رویکرد تام سورِل با رویکرد اغلب آثاری که در مورد دکارت خوانده‌ام این است که سورل بخش قابل‌توجهی از کتابش را به موضوعیّت کوشش‌های علمی دکارت اختصاص می‌دهد و نتیجتا مابعدالطبیعه‌ی او را در طریقیّتش برای اثبات بنیانی برای طبیعت‌شناسی او فهم می‌کند. مؤلف هم‌چنین فصول کتاب را بر ترتیب ایام زندگی دکارت نوشته است و از این نظر هم به کتاب شکلی نسبتا بدیع داده است

[Alderick Blank · Rating 3 out of 5]

A good introduction into Descartes' life and philosophy. The book was very simplistically written and thus easy to understand. And I like that Sorell described Descartes' philosophy and how it evolved through time by following a biographical format of story telling.

[Dani Lensen · Rating 2 out of 5]

2.5 stars

[Hans Ostrom · Rating 4 out of 5]

A nifty, brief biography of the great rationalist.

[Jeroen Berndsen · Rating 3 out of 5]

René Descartes (1596-1650) wordt beschouwd als de vader van de moderne wijsbegeerte. Hij is vooral bekend voor zijn gebruik van de methodische twijfel, die volgens hem uitmondt in de zekerheid van het 'Cogito, ergo sum' (ik denk, dus ik ben) als uitgangspunt voor het bewijs van het bestaan van God en van de materiële wereld. Voor Descartes was metafysica echter een onlosmakelijk onderdeel van zijn bredere wetenschappelijke onderzoekingen, die zich uitstrekten tot op het gebied van de fysica, wiskunde, psychologie en optica. Tom Sorell laat in deze heldere inleiding duidelijk zien dat Descartes vooral een pleitbezorger en beoefenaar was van de nieuwe, mathematische benadering van de werkelijkheid en zijn metafysica ontwikkelde als grondslag voor de moderne wetenschap. (van bol)[return][return]Ik vond het een heldere uiteenzetting van descartes' ideeen. Een goede inleiding tot zijn werk.