Customer Reviews

A Guided Tour of Rene Descartes' Meditations on First Philosophy

5 star:		(2)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(0)
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1 star:		(0)

 

 

This is probably the best introduction to philosophy that anyone could hope for. Descartes is not hard to read or comprehend but this particular book is unusually helpful to the newcomer. The author tries to give the reader a good idea of what philosophy is about and how to read philsophical works. There are detailed questions that instruct the reader on how to "think like Descartes" and to construct logically sound arguments based upon minimal assumptions. An excellent introduction to philosophy and to critical thinking.

I am the instructor of a college course in which we read Descartes' Meditations. I ordered this edition because I wanted to use the Rubin translation that also appears in the Perry/Bratman anthology Introduction to Philosophy 3rd ed., and because the bookstore could not obtain the Arete Press edition of Rubin's translation.

For the purpose of a college course text I do not find this edition ideal. The commentary is much too intrusive and distracting. Moreover, this is *not* the same translation as found in Perry/Bratman! Instructors, beware.

For the general reader looking for a guide, however, this might be useful ...

well put together and the outline of questions would be most beneficial to a young reader rather than an older reader.