A solid grasp of the main themes and arguments of the seventeenth century philosopher Rene Descartes is an essential tool towards understanding modern thought, and a necessary entree to the work of the empiricists and Immanuel Kant, and to the study of contemporary epistemology and philosophy of mind. Clear and accessible, this new book serves as an introduction to Descartes's ideas for undergraduates and as a sophisticated companion to his Meditations for more advanced readers. After a thorough discussion of the main themes and arguments of the Meditations, the historical background of the work, and its critical reception, the author offers his own reflections on Cartesian doubt, the cogito, the causal and ontological proofs of God's existence, the Cartesian circle, Cartesian dualism, and Descartes' views of the material world. The commentary includes and cross-references the full text of Meditations I, II, and V, and most of Meditations III and VI, employing John Cottingham's highly-praised translation.
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"A sensible philosophical introduction to Descartes."--S. Kwame, Lincoln University
"Excellent...for student and teacher purposes."--Louis Tenus, Rosary College
"An excellent field guide to the Meditations--a first class piece of work."--Richard Parker, California State University, Chico
"This is a good book to use for a course that deals with Descartes, such as History of Modern Philosophy course. It has some profound discussion about the soundness of the Ontological Argument for God's existence, etc."--Stephen Joseph, Framingham State College
"The best introduction to the philosophy of Descartes available."--Jim Syfers, San Francisco State University
"Straightforward!!"--The Modern Schoolman
"Excellent...for student and teacher purposes."--Louis Tenus, Rosary College
"An excellent field guide to the Meditations--a first class piece of work."--Richard Parker, California State University, Chico
"This is a good book to use for a course that deals with Descartes, such as History of Modern Philosophy course. It has some profound discussion about the soundness of the Ontological Argument for God's existence, etc."--Stephen Joseph, Framingham State College
"The best introduction to the philosophy of Descartes available."--Jim Syfers, San Francisco State University
"Straightforward!!"--The Modern Schoolman
About the Author
Georges Dicker is at State University of New York, Brockport.
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
An accessible introduction to Descartes. Clearly written.,
This review is from: Descartes: An Analytical and Historical Introduction (Paperback)
Dicker's introduction to Descartes is clearly written and easily accessible to new students of Descartes. Although it's not substitute for a thorough inquiry into Descartes' philosophy, Dicker's book is a necessary read for new students. See his book on Hume as well.
5.0 out of 5 stars
An excelent introduction to Descartes and the Meditations,
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This review is from: Descartes: An Analytical and Historical Introduction (Paperback)
An excelent introduction to Cartesian philosophy: "After a thorough dicussion of several basic issues of metaphysics and epistemology elicited from the main themes and arguments of the Meditations and of the work's historical background and critical reception, Georges Dicker offers his own reflections on Cartesian doubt, the cogito, the causal and ontological proofs of God's existence, the Cartesian circle, Cartesian dualism, and Descartes' views of the material world."
1 of 5 people found the following review helpful:
2.0 out of 5 stars
Captivating yet overly simplified,
By A Customer
This review is from: Descartes: An Analytical and Historical Introduction (Paperback)
I was one of the many lucky enough not only to read this book but have the text analyzed in a classroom setting by the author himself. In this text Dr. Dicker displays his extensive knolwedge of the subject at hand. Yet in doing so he shows a tendancy to over analyze Descartes meditations eventually making anything beyond the original text segments very laborious reading, although I would recomend the book for the purpose it was intended for in my case; a very methodical introduction to basic philosophy.
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Inside This Book
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First Sentence:
If one had to describe in a single word what Descartes does in his First Meditation, that word would have to be the verb "doubt." Read the first page Key Phrases - Capitalized Phrases (CAPs): (learn more)
New York, Cartesian Circle, Van Cleve, Dream Argument, Principles of Philosophy, Anthony Kenny, Causal Adequacy Principle, John Cottingham, Bernard Williams, David Hume, Moderate Realism, Bertrand Russell, Epistemic Principles, First Meditation, Platonic Realism, Descartes Against the Skeptics, Goldbach's Conjecture, Oxford University Press, Synopsis of the Meditations, Willis Doney, Harry Frankfurt, John Locke, Journal of Philosophy, Harvard University Press, Immanuel Kant New!
Books on Related Topics | Concordance | Text Stats Browse Sample Pages:
Front Cover | Table of Contents | First Pages | Index | Back Cover | Surprise Me!
If one had to describe in a single word what Descartes does in his First Meditation, that word would have to be the verb "doubt." Read the first page Key Phrases - Capitalized Phrases (CAPs): (learn more)
New York, Cartesian Circle, Van Cleve, Dream Argument, Principles of Philosophy, Anthony Kenny, Causal Adequacy Principle, John Cottingham, Bernard Williams, David Hume, Moderate Realism, Bertrand Russell, Epistemic Principles, First Meditation, Platonic Realism, Descartes Against the Skeptics, Goldbach's Conjecture, Oxford University Press, Synopsis of the Meditations, Willis Doney, Harry Frankfurt, John Locke, Journal of Philosophy, Harvard University Press, Immanuel Kant New!
Books on Related Topics | Concordance | Text Stats Browse Sample Pages:
Front Cover | Table of Contents | First Pages | Index | Back Cover | Surprise Me!
Citations (learn more)
This book cites 46
books:
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21
books
cite this book:
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- The Principles Of Philosophy by Rene Descartes on 12 pages
- A Discourse on the Method (Oxford World's Classics) by Renï¿1/2 Descartes on 10 pages
- An Essay Concerning Human Understanding (Great Books in Philosophy) by John Locke on 6 pages
- Descartes; A Study of His Philosophy by Anthony Kenny on 6 pages
- Philosophical Writings by Rene Descartes on 5 pages
See all 46 books this book cites
- Descartes and the Possibility of Science by Peter A. Schouls on page 10, page 30, and Back Matter
- Problems from Kant by James Van Cleve in Back Matter (1), and Back Matter (2)
- A Modern Introduction to Theology: New Questions for Old Beliefs by Philip Kennedy in Back Matter
- Fifty Major Philosophers (Routledge Key Guides) by Diane Collinson on page 94
- Arguing for Atheism: An Introduction to the Philosophy of Religion by Robin Le Poidevin in Back Matter
See all 21 books citing this book
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