Customer Reviews

Discourse on the Method and Meditations on First Philosophy (Rethinking the Western Tradition)

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Usually, philosophy books speak only to academic philosophers. This one shows Descartes' influence in a wide range of domains, including math and science, ethics and politics, psychology, and literature and the arts. The nine essays that complement Descartes' texts (the Discourse and Meditations) are accessible, but deeply informed. They have little or no competition. The translation is classic and clean, not fussy. This is not the last word on Descartes. Professorial competition guarantees many more. But this book is both scholarly and provocative.

The negative nature of this review reflects upon this particular translation of Descartes' seminal work, not upon the content of the work itself. The edition in question (ISBN: 0330067739), published by Yale University Press and edited by David Weissman, utilizes a translation rendered originally for Cambridge University Press in 1911. Unfortunately, this translation does much to obfuscate a work that should help enlighten.

The saving grace of this edition is that 3/4's of the book consists of nine separate essays, many of which are excellent, that review a broad spectrum of topics pertaining to Descartes and his ideas.

I recommend that you buy this book for the excellent supplementary materials, but look elsewhere for a modern translation (i.e. the John Cottingham translation in the 'new' Cambridge Philosophy series).