Rene Descartes: Meditations on First Philosophy: With Selections from the Objections and Replies

by JohnCottingham (Translator)

• Used

  Paperback
  1986

  $3.51

  Of all Descartes' works students are most often referred to his Meditations, as a key text in Western philosophy. This textbook extracts from the recently published two volume Philosophical Writings of Descartes (translated by Cottingham, Stoothoff and Murdoch) the authoritative, new translation of the Meditations and complements it with a thematic abridgement of the Objections and Replies. The selection of extracts from the Objections and Replies has been done specially for the present volume, with the aim of assisting the student to come to terms with the subtle reasoning of the Meditations by focusing on some of the principal philosophical difficulties raised by the work. Material is arranged thematically so as to indicate the main points of criticism which occured to Descartes' contemporaries as they read the Meditations, and how Descartes clarified his arguments in response to those criticisms. The new translation of these fundamental writings is based on the best available Latin or French texts, and rendered into clear, readable English.

• New

  Paperback
  2008

  $11.62

  'It is some years now since I realized how many false opinions I had accepted as true from childhood onwards...I saw that at some stage in my life the whole structure would have to be utterly demolished' In Descartes's Meditations, one of the key texts of Western philosophy, the thinker rejects all his former beliefs in the quest for new certainties. Discovering his own existence as a thinking entity in the very exercise of doubt, he goes on to prove the existence of God, who guarantees his clear and distinct ideas as a means of access to the truth. He develops new conceptions of body and mind, capable of serving as foundations for the new science of nature. Subsequent philosophy has grappled with Descartes's legacy, questioning many of its conclusions and even his basic approach, but his arguments set the agenda for many of the greatest philosophical thinkers, and their fascination endures. This new translation includes the Third and Fourth Objections and Replies in full, and a selection from the rest of these exchanges with Descartes's contemporaries that helped to expound his philosophy. ABOUT THE SERIES: For over 100 years Oxford World's Classics has made available the widest range of literature from around the globe. Each affordable volume reflects Oxford's commitment to scholarship, providing the most accurate text plus a wealth of other valuable features, including expert introductions by leading authorities, helpful notes to clarify the text, up-to-date bibliographies for further study, and much more.