Orazio Ricasoli Rucellai is one of the leading eruditi of the second half of 17th-century Florence; he tried to keep alive Galileo’s contribution to science. Most of his Dialoghi filosofici have been published at the end of 19th century; among the unpublished dialogues dedicated to Timaeus we find a partial defence of Descartes’ metaphysics, which is edited in the Appendix. In particular, the topics at stake are the demonstration of God’s existence and of the immateriality of the soul in (...) Descartes’s Meditationes. The opponent of Descartes’s doctrine relies on Gassendi’s Obiectiones. Descartes’s doctrine of ideas completely detached from sense perception is dismissed as useless on a cognitive basis, and only a generic innatism is maintained, only as far as it can provide a proof of God’s imprint on human soul. (shrink)

The author proposes that the anonymous letter dated May 19th 1641 and delivered to Descartes by Mersenne should be attributed to Thomas Hobbes. Although the content is known, what scholars are usually more interested in are Descartes’ two replies, which contain important clarifications on the proof of God’s existence. That the letter was written by Hobbes is revealed by various thematic, conceptual, and lexical analogies and, above all, by the presence of two doctrines characteristic of his thought: 1) (...) the denial of the existence of intellectual ideas; 2) the assertion that the nature of God can only be described by the proposition "God exists". Attributing this letter to Hobbes throws new light on the debate that followed Descartes’ Meditations as well as on the role played by Mersenne. (shrink)

La question du sujet se trouve, historiquement, toujours rapportée à Descartes : de Kant à Heidegger, par Nietzsche et Husserl, les critiques s’accordent sur cette paternité. Cette tradition ne peut se contester, mais elle ne doit pourtant pas, dans le détail, être admise sans réserves. En effet, Descartes n’a littéralement pas soutenu la thèse d’un ego sujet, ni substance, ni réfléchissant, etc. Ce qui ne signifie pas que ces thèses postérieures ne proviennent pas, en un sens à préciser, (...) de son initiative conceptuelle, mais au moins qu’elles ne lui sont pas identiques et que l’ego cartésien recèle plus de potentialités que ce que l’histoire y a compris.Descartes hors sujetLa questione dello soggetto se trovà relata per la storia della filosfia a Cartesio : Kant e Heidegger, ne meno che Nietzsche e Husserl, sono d’accordo sù questà paternità. Non si contesterà qui questa traditione interpretativa, purtoppo non dobbiamo accerter la senza qualcune riservazione. E un fatto che Descartes, nella litteralità de sui testi, non ha mai sotenuto che il ego sià un soggetto, una sostanzia, neanche ché si pensà per une reflessione, etc. Questo fatto non significà che queste tese non vengonno dell’impostazione cartesiana, mà che al meno non se identifacono con elle et che il ego di Cartesio tiene anché possibilite molte piu ampie che quelle che l’historia a già vista. (shrink)

In Cartesian philosophy the study of emotion has great importance, because its only existence constitutes a real problem. In fact, through the passions, Descartes is located in front of the obscure and confused perceptions that, despite their not intellectual evidence, appear as manifestations of a third idea: the substantial union between res extensa and res cogitans. What is the type of evidence that underpin passions? How can you reach this evidence? These are some of the questions that the author (...) tries to answer. (shrink)

La critique spéculative est inconciliable avec le réalisme de la religion et de la science. Les termes de cette antithèse se retrouvent chez Descartes. Le cogito représente, de fait, le moment de la critique qui résout toute réalité dans la pensée, mais qui est en même temps incapable de jeter les fondements d’une construction ontologique ; aussi, quand prévaut, chez Descartes, l’exigence constructive et réaliste, il est contraint de mettre de côté sa première intuition pour poser la réalité (...) de Dieu et de la substance étendue et pensante. (shrink)

SÍNTESE - Facilmente lê-se Descartes como autor de um projeto de reforma do conhecimento, estranhando- se mesmo a presença da moral, na parte terceira do Discurso. Uma análise aprofundada do projeto cartesiano mostra, entretanto, que na economia complessiva intelectual projetada por ele, a moral representa ao mesmo tempo o pressuposto e o ponto alto de tal reforma.

En este artículo se ensaya un análisis de los presupuestos, de las consecuencias, que entraña la concepción cartesiana del saber. Y se llega a la conclusión de que toda la reflexión de Descartes se puede leer también como una filosofía de la historia en la que está la raíz de la idea moderna (y contemporánea) de progreso.

The recent scholarly promotion of Pierre Gassendi to a key position in the formative modern period raises doubts about the portrayal of Descartes as “the father” of the post-Scholastic philosophical conceptualization. I defend the Cartesio-centric account against Thomas M. Lennon’s elliptical alternative. The defense necessitates a reassessment of the root nature of Descartes’s contribution—specifically of the interplay between philosophy and science, the latter being the crucial extraphilosophical component of the new practico-cognitive ensemble. This raises questions about the (...) “philosophically” of Descartes’s activity, and with that questions about the quality of modernity. By way of explaining Gassendis nonoriginative position, his attitude toward the post-Scholastic Humanist thought that Descartes simply repudiated is examined. (shrink)

Essay review of Arrigo Pacchi: Cartesio in Inghilterra. Da More a Boyle. Roma: Editori Laterza 1973. Pp. xv + 272.

Nel 2004, in occasione del secondo bicentenario della morte di Kant, i cartesiani tornarono nelle fila dell'interpretazione che Ferdinand Alquié aveva opposto a quella di Alexis Philolenko. È possibile indagare su “Descartes est en Kant” per il fatto che il filosofo di Konisberg, come Cartesio prima di lui, poneva l'essere al di là della conoscenza. Certamente il percorso seguito fu un altro: Kant lo fece ponendo la condizione dei limiti della conoscenza; Cartesio affermando il carattere incomprensibile dell'infinito. (...) Inutile, tuttavia, cercare citazioni da Cartesio in Kant Werke, ed è impossibile risalire a tesi o concetti di scrittura cartesiana che possano essere identificati come tali. Così, i cartesiani, nel 2004, cercavano ciò che c'è in “Descartes est en Kant” al di là del confronto tra dottrine isolate, poiché i testi non consentono di stabilire affiliazioni dirette (come volevano i neokantiani): l'affiliazione di Cartesio a Kant trova nella co-appartenenza dei due filosofi allo stesso orizzonte di problemi. Sulla scia di Alquié, l'obiettivo dei cartesiani era »finalement, de reconnaître dans quelle mesure Kant renouvelle le moment cartésien, en sorte que, lorsque Kant pense, Descartes s'avance encore, caché. Caché en Kant, agissant encore sous la figure de Kant». (shrink)

Hobbes’s political anthropology is grounded on a concept of liberty whose elaboration was influenced by the development of his project for a materialist philosophical system. Hobbes’s attempt to provide a definitive foundation for civil science led him to re-elaborate the concept of liberty after De cive, and eventually conflate its descriptive and normative components in Leviathan. Some of Leviathan ’s conceptual innovations can thus be related to Hobbes’s attempt to absorb the natural liberties of individuals in the body politic’s artificial (...) functioning. (shrink)

L’Epistola ad V. C. de Henry More ( Epistola H. Mori ad V.C. quae Apologiam complectitur pro Cartesio, quaeque introductionis loco esse poterit ad universam philosophiam cartesianam ), publiée plusieurs fois du vivant de More, a toujours été lue, par les commentateurs, essentiellement comme une étape, tout à fait centrale, dans l’histoire des relations de More à Descartes. C’est une thèse interprétative que je partage, mais à laquelle je voudrais essayer d’ajouter une perspective de lecture. Je voudrais montrer (...) que l’Epistola, si elle est considérée dans toutes les étapes de son histoire éditoriale, peut être lue, davantage que comme une étape, quoique capitale, comme un condensé de l’histoire du changement d’attitude de More par rapport à Descartes. En effet, l’histoire des péripéties éditoriales qui la caractérisent reproduit à petite échelle l’histoire complexe du rapport de More à la philosophie cartésienne et, en même temps, permet de mieux l’éclairer. (shrink)

Spanning nearly twenty years (1993-2012), the essays in Judith Butler’s Senses of the Subject investigate the processes of subject formation. Via an engagement with canonical philosophical figures like Descartes, Malebranche, Merleau-Ponty, Spinoza, Irigaray, Hegel, Kierkegaard, Sartre, and Fanon, Butler develops the thesis that a radical “susceptibility” or “impressionability” vis-à-vis social and linguistic powers is constitutive of the “I.” This claim, as I suggest in the review, has two implications. First, any attempt to account for this process of initial formation (...) is inherently paradoxical; it seeks to put into words a moment that is temporally and structurally prior to the emergence and development of the “I” and the ability to recount such an emergence. Second, the subject, and also the process of subject’s formation, is structurally and temporally open, incessantly relying upon that which is “external” to the subject for its emergence. This collection, which is exclusively devoted to Butler’s engagement with the philosophical tradition, is an invaluable contribution not only to the understanding of Butler’s philosophy and her relationship with the canon. It also opens the space for an investigation of Butler’s philosophical commitments to query why the body seems to dematerialize from her work, even, it seems, when she makes the materiality of the body an explicit focus of her inquiry.Sur une durée de presque vingt ans (1993-2012), les essais rassemblés dans Senses of the Subject de Judith Butler examinent les processus de la formation des sujets. À travers le débat avec des figures philosophiques canoniques telles que Descartes, Malebranche, Merleau-Ponty, Spinoza, Irigaray, Hegel, Kierkegaard, Sartre et Fanon, Butler développe la thèse qu’une « susceptibilité » ou « impressionnabilité » radicale par rapport aux pouvoirs sociaux et linguistiques est constitutive du « Moi ». Cette thèse, comme je le suggère dans ma recension, a deux implications. En premier lieu, toute tentative de rendre compte de ce processus de formation initiale est paradoxal ; elle consiste à mettre en mots un moment qui est temporellement et structurellement premier par rapport à l’émergence et au développement du « Moi » et donc à la capacité de rendre compte d’une telle émergence. En second lieu, le sujet, et donc aussi le processus de formation du sujet, est structurellement et temporellement ouvert, et repose continuellement sur ce qui est « externe » au sujet pour son émergence. Ce recueil, exclusivement consacré au débat de Butler avec la tradition philosophique, est une contribution incontournable, non seulement pour la compréhension de la philosophie de Butler et de sa relation avec le canon, mais encore parce qu’il ouvre un espace pour examiner pourquoi le corps semble dématérialisé dans son oeuvre, même lorsqu’elle fait de la matérialité du corps le centre de sa réflexion. Distribuiti lungo l’arco di quasi vent’anni (1993-2012), i saggi contenuti in Senses of the Subject di Judith Butler indagano il processo della formazione del soggetto. Attraverso un confronto con figure canoniche della filosofia come Cartesio, Malebranche, Merleau-Ponty, Spinoza, Irigaray, Hegel, Kierkegaard, Sartre e Fanon, Butler sviluppa la tesi che l’“Io” sia costituito da una radicale “suscettibilità” o “impressionabilità” rispetto ai poteri sociali e linguistici. Questa tesi, come suggerisco nella mia recensione, ha due implicazioni. In primo luogo, qualunque tentativo di rendere conto di questo processo di formazione iniziale è paradossale: si tratterebbe di un tentativo di esprimere attraverso le parole un momento che è temporalmente e strutturalmente precedente all’emergere e svilupparsi dell’“Io” e alla capacità di riportare e riferire questo stesso emergere. In secondo luogo, il soggetto, così come il processo della sua formazione, è strutturalmente e temporalmente aperto, e si affida incessantemente a ciò che è “esterno” al soggetto stesso nel suo emergere. La raccolta in questione, interamente dedicata al confronto di Butler con la tradizione filosofica, non soltanto rappresenta un contributo inestimabile per la comprensione della filosofia dell’autrice e della sua relazione con la tradizione; essa offre anche la possibilità di mettere a fuoco i termini dell’impegno filosofico di Butler, così da chiarire perché il corpo sembri smaterializzarsi dal suo lavoro anche laddove apparentemente l’autrice fa della materialità del corpo un nucleo centrale della propria indagine. (shrink)

Volumes I and II provided a completely new translation of the philosophical works of Descartes, based on the best available Latin and French texts. Volume III contains 207 of Descartes' letters, over half of which have previously not been translated into English. It incorporates, in its entirety, Anthony Kenny's celebrated translation of selected philosophical letters, first published in 1970. In conjunction with Volumes I and II it is designed to meet the widespread demand for a comprehensive, authoritative and (...) accurate edition of Descartes' philosophical writings in clear and readable modern English. (shrink)

The purpose of thisDescartes Dictionaryis to bring together as many as possible of the technical and special terms in Descartes writings with their definitions in Descartes own words. There are also implicit characterizations of the meanings of many words, and a handful of entries were included simply for their own sake because Descartes had something interesting to say about his life and world. All of the entries, or almost all of them, have been newly translated for this (...) volume. There are many reasons for preparing new translations: the language in the older translations is archaic and often inaccurate; many of Descartes most important works have never been translated into English; and modern translations vary in quality and style. What is most important, though, is that the old translations simply failed to pay attention to the technical language that Descartes used, and so blurred some of the most important distinctions that he made. (shrink)

10. Physico-mathematica. Compendium musicae. Regulae ad directionem ingenii. Recherche de la vérité. Supplément à la correspondance.

Based on the new and much acclaimed two volume Cambridge edition of The Philosophical Writings of Descartes by Cottingham, Stoothoff, and Murdoch, this anthology of essential texts contains the most important and widely studied of those writings, including the Discourse and Meditations and substantial extracts from the Regulae, Optics, Principles, Objections and Replies, Comments on a Broadsheet, and Passions of the Soul.

This work has been selected by scholars as being culturally important, and is part of the knowledge base of civilization as we know it. This work was reproduced from the original artifact, and remains as true to the original work as possible. Therefore, you will see the original copyright references, library stamps (as most of these works have been housed in our most important libraries around the world), and other notations in the work. This work is in the public domain (...) in the United States of America, and possibly other nations. Within the United States, you may freely copy and distribute this work, as no entity (individual or corporate) has a copyright on the body of the work. As a reproduction of a historical artifact, this work may contain missing or blurred pages, poor pictures, errant marks, etc. Scholars believe, and we concur, that this work is important enough to be preserved, reproduced, and made generally available to the public. We appreciate your support of the preservation process, and thank you for being an important part of keeping this knowledge alive and relevant. (shrink)

The Philosophical Writings of Descartes VOLUME 3. Volumes 1 and 2 provide a completely new translation of many of the major works in metaphysics, epistemology, and natural philosophy.

This book covers a remarkable amount of ground and has become something of a classic. Besides the Discourse and the Meditations, it contains Private Thoughts, the third set of Objections and Replies, most of the Regulae, parts of the Principia and the Dioptrics, together with crrespondence with Elizabeth, Princess Palatine, Mersenne and others.

The Elzevirs printed Descartes' philosophical works in quarto format six times between 1644 and 1677, and the parts of each ed. were sold together and separately, in many different combinations; cf. Willems, 1008. The present configuration of texts consists of the first 3 works of the 1650 (2nd) ed.--the Principia, Specimina, and Passiones animae-- to which has been added the 1654 ed. of the Meditationes.

These two 1985 volumes provide a translation of the philosophical works of Descartes, based on the best available Latin and French texts. They are intended to replace the only reasonably comprehensive selection of his works in English, by Haldane and Ross, first published in 1911. All the works included in that edition are translated here, together with a number of additional texts crucial for an understanding of Cartesian philosophy, including important material from Descartes' scientific writings. The result should (...) meet the widespread demand for an accurate and authoritative edition of Descartes' philosophical writings in clear and readable modern English. (shrink)

These two volumes provide a translation of the philosophical works of Descartes, based on the best available Latin and French texts. They are intended to replace the only reasonably comprehensive selection of his works in English, by Haldane and Ross, first published in 1911. All the works included in that edition are translated here, together with a number of additional texts crucial for an understanding of Cartesian philosophy, including important material from Descartes' scientific writings. The result should meet (...) the widespread demand for an accurate and authoritative edition of Descartes' philosophical writings in clear and readable modern English. (shrink)

René Descartes's Regulae ad directionem ingenii ('Rules for the Direction of the Understanding') is his earliest surviving philosophical treatise, and in many respects his most puzzling text. It is a profoundly original work with few intellectual precursors, and offers the fullest account anywhere in Descartes's work of his theory of method. Yet Descartes left it unfinished, and unpublished, at his death in 1650. The versions currently known to modern readers are all posthumous: a manuscript copied for Leibniz (...) in the late seventeenth century, a Dutch translation of 1684, and the version printed in 1701 in Amsterdam. As a result, the details and date of its composition, its fragmentary, unfinished state, and its philosophical content have long puzzled scholars. The discovery by Richard Serjeantson in 2011 of a previously unknown, early manuscript draft of the Regulae in Cambridge University Library was a hugely significant event in Cartesian scholarship. This edition presents the Cambridge manuscript of the Regulae alongside the 1701 Amsterdam version of the text to allow comparison between the early manuscript draft and the version best-known to modern readers, together with a full English translations of both texts. It is also the first critical edition of the Regulae to take into account the full range of textual witnesses to the text, both manuscript and printed. The new Cambridge manuscript sheds important light on the composition, date, and philosophical content of the Regulae, and will provoke scholars to rethink key questions about Descartes's early philosophical development. (shrink)

English summary: This text, compiled in the 19th century, is considered to be the ultimate reference edition of the complete works of Rene Descartes and is the only truly complete edition to date. This work includes all of Descartes correspondence and scientific work, both of which are essential to understanding of the Cartesian enterprise. French description: Sans cesse lu et etudie, Descartes exerca une influence considerable en Europe des le XVIIe siecle. Le projet de l'edition des oeuvres (...) completes de Descartes a ete lance en 1894 par le Ministere de l'Instruction publique, et entrepris par un comite comprenant entre autre Emile Boutroux, Xavier Leon, Louis Liard, Charles Adam et Paul Tannery. Ces deux derniers, veritables maitres d'oeuvre de ce travail, aides par l'editeur, ne negligerent rien pour pouvoir presenter a l'Exposition universelle de 1900, une edition qui fut digne du philosophe et de son pays. Elle est desormais universellement consideree comme l'edition de reference de l'oeuvre cartesienne et est constamment citee dans les travaux d'erudition. Elle est la seule edition veritablement complete a ce jour, et comprend notamment l'ensemble de la correspondance et de l'oeuvre scientifique, toutes deux essentielles a une bonne comprehension de l'entreprise cartesienne. (shrink)

The Elzevirs printed Descartes' philosophical works in quarto format six times between 1644 and 1677, and the parts of each ed. were sold together and separately, in many different combinations; cf. Willems, 1008. The present configuration of texts consists of the first 3 works of the 1650 (2nd) ed.--the Principia, Specimina, and Passiones animae-- to which has been added the 1654 ed. of the Meditationes.

The Elzevirs printed Descartes' philosophical works in quarto format six times between 1644 and 1677, and the parts of each ed. were sold together and separately, in many different combinations; cf. Willems, 1008. The present configuration of texts consists of the first 3 works of the 1650 (2nd) ed.--the Principia, Specimina, and Passiones animae-- to which has been added the 1654 ed. of the Meditationes.

The Elzevirs printed Descartes' philosophical works in quarto format six times between 1644 and 1677, and the parts of each ed. were sold together and separately, in many different combinations; cf. Willems, 1008. The present configuration of texts consists of the first 3 works of the 1650 (2nd) ed.--the Principia, Specimina, and Passiones animae-- to which has been added the 1654 ed. of the Meditationes.