A Descartes Dictionary

ISBN-13: 9780631185383 / Angielski / Miękka / 1993 / 200 str.

John Cottingham

Opis

To confront the Cartesian system is to contemplate a magnificently laid out map of human cognitive endeavour. To follow Descartes' arguments is to be drawn into some of the most fundamental and challenging issues in philosophy. In this Dictionary, Cottingham presents an alphabetized guide to this most daunting of philosophers. Key concepts and ideas in Cartesian thought are traced through Descartes' writings, and put in the context of the 17th-century intellectual climate and subsequent interpretation. The newcomer to Descartes, whether student or general reader, should find thorough guidance from cogito ergo sum to trademark agrument. Key ideas on many topics such as the cosmos, physics, theology and immortality of the soul are fully covered, and there is a bibliographic guide to the mass of interpretetive literature on Descartes, as well as on his own writings.

Spis treści

Preface vii

Note on the use of the book 1

Abbreviations 3

Introduction: Descartes Life and Works 5

Dictionary Entries A–Z 11

Bibliography 170

Index 175

O autorze

John Cottingham is Professor of Philosophy at the University of Reading. His book include Descartes (Blackwell, 1986) and The Rationalists (OUP 1988) and he is also editor of the The Cambridge Companion to Descartes (CUP, 1992) and co–editor and co–translator of the English edition of The Philosophical Writings on Descartes (CUP, 1985–91).

Blurb

To confront the philosophical system of Rene Descartes is to contemplate a magnificently laid out map of human cognitive endeavour. In following Descartes arguments, the reader is drawn into some of the most fundamental and challenging issues in all of philosophy. In this dictionary, John Cottingham presents an alphabetied guide to this most stimulating and widely–studied of philosophers. He examines the key concepts and ideas in Cartesian thought and places them in the context both of the seventeenth–century intellectual climate and of subsequent interpretation. The entries range over a wide variety of areas including cosmology, physics, theology, psychology and ethics. The book is designed to appeal to the newcomer to Descartes, whether student or general reader, while also providing detailed critical comment and precise textual references for the more advanced reader. Also included are a general introduction describing Descartes′ life and works, and bibliographic guide to the Cartesian texts and the mass of interpretative literature on Descartes.