Descartes & the Autonomy of the Human Understanding

Descartes & the Autonomy of the Human Understanding PDF

Author: John Carriero

Publisher: Routledge

Published: 2019-07-15

Total Pages: 260

ISBN-13: 113575229X

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This volume, originally published in 1990, delineates the transition Descartes effects from a prevalent medieval conception of understanding to a modern conception of it. Through the examination of the continuities and discontinuities between Descartes' account of the understanding and that of high scholasticism, a characterization emerges of two way in which the understanding is autonomous in Descartes' view. These two sorts of autonomy shed light on the origin of a set of related concerns that give modern philosophy its coherence, setting it apart from medieval philosophy as a distinct tradition. The first sort - the independence of the understanding of the senses - creates the modern problem of scepticism with regard to the external world. The second sort, concerning the ontological status of the mind, provides the background against which modern discussions of the mind/body problem take shape.

Scepticism, Freedom and Autonomy

Scepticism, Freedom and Autonomy PDF

Author: Marcelo de Araujo

Publisher: Walter de Gruyter

Published: 2012-10-24

Total Pages: 248

ISBN-13: 3110910950

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How much does what we think depend on what we want? Descartes' much-discussed position has often been interpreted to mean that we hold an opinion as the result of a decision. In Scepticism, Freedom and Autonomy, Araujo argues against this interpretation, asserting that we retain control over our opinions only through selective attention. Even for this limited control, however, Cartesian Scepticism implies the possibility of self-delusion, symbolized in the writings of Descartes by the figure of the evil god. Hence, the existence of an evil god would not only cast doubt on our claims to knowledge but also jeopardize our freedom. In this new interpretation, the Cartesian Scepticism, which is usually ascribed only epistemic significance, proves relevant for a fundamental moral question, that of human autonomy in general.

Self, Reason, and Freedom

Self, Reason, and Freedom PDF

Author: Andrea Christofidou

Publisher: Routledge

Published: 2013

Total Pages: 277

ISBN-13: 0415501067

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This book sheds new light on the role of freedom in Descartes' thought and defends the theory of an internal relation between freedom and reason in his metaphysics.

A Companion to Descartes

A Companion to Descartes PDF

Author: Janet Broughton

Publisher: John Wiley & Sons

Published: 2010-11-08

Total Pages: 562

ISBN-13: 144433784X

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A collection of more than 30 specially commissioned essays, this volume surveys the work of the 17th-century philosopher-scientist commonly regarded as the founder of modern philosophy, while integrating unique essays detailing the context and impact of his work. Covers the full range of historical and philosophical perspectives on the work of Descartes Discusses his seminal contributions to our understanding of skepticism, mind-body dualism, self-knowledge, innate ideas, substance, causality, God, and the nature of animals Explores the philosophical significance of his contributions to mathematics and science Concludes with a section on the impact of Descartes's work on subsequent philosophers

Cartesian Reflections

Cartesian Reflections PDF

Author: John Cottingham

Publisher: Oxford University Press

Published: 2008-09-11

Total Pages:

ISBN-13: 0191551635

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John Cottingham explores central areas of Descartes's rich and wide-ranging philosophical system, including his accounts of thought and language, of freedom and action, of our relationship to the animal domain, and of human morality and the conduct of life. He also examines ways in which his philosophy has been misunderstood. The Cartesian mind-body dualism that is so often attacked is only a part of Descartes's account of what it is to be a thinking, sentient, human creature, and the way he makes the division between the mental and the physical is considerably more subtle, and philosophically more appealing, than is generally assumed. Although Descartes is often considered to be one of the heralds of our modern secular worldview, the 'new' philosophy which he launched retains many links with the ideas of his predecessors, not least in the all-pervasive role it assigns to God (something that is ignored or downplayed by many modern readers); and the character of the Cartesian outlook is multifaceted, sometimes anticipating Enlightenment ideas of human autonomy and independent scientific inquiry, but also sometimes harmonizing with more traditional notions of human nature as created to find fulfilment in harmony with its creator.

Passions of the Soul

Passions of the Soul PDF

Author: René Descartes

Publisher: Hackett Publishing

Published: 1989-12-15

Total Pages: 194

ISBN-13: 162466198X

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TABLE OF CONTENTS: Translator's Introduction Introduction by Genevieve Rodis-Lewis The Passions of the Soul: Preface PART I: About the Passions in General, and Incidentally about the Entire Nature of Man PART II: About the Number and Order of the Passions, and the Explanation of the Six Primitives PART III: About the Particular Passions Lexicon: Index to Lexicon Bibliography Index Index Locorum

Descartes: Philosophical Essays and Correspondence

Descartes: Philosophical Essays and Correspondence PDF

Author: René Descartes

Publisher: Hackett Publishing

Published: 2000-03-15

Total Pages: 360

ISBN-13: 1603840176

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A superb text for teaching the philosophy of Descartes, this volume includes all his major works in their entirety, important selections from his lesser known writings, and key selections from his philosophical correspondence. The result is an anthology that enables the reader to understand the development of Descartes’s thought over his lifetime. Includes a biographical Introduction, chronology, bibliography, and index.

Descartes's Moral Theory

Descartes's Moral Theory PDF

Author: John Marshall

Publisher: Cornell University Press

Published: 1998

Total Pages: 198

ISBN-13: 9780801435676

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John Marshall invites us to reconsider Rene Descartes as an ethicist. Through an examination of his statements about morality found in such writings as the Discourse on the Method, the Passions of the Soul, and various correspondence, Marshall shows how Descartes confirmed and elaborated his earlier "provisional morality" in his later works. Marshall demonstrates that Descartes left a fully developed conception of moral virtue and happiness along with other accounts of values and norms, and he expands on these accounts to describe Cartesian moral theory as a whole.

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