Descartes and the tree of knowledge

Synthese 92 (1):101 - 116 (1992)
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Abstract

Descartes' image of the tree of knowledge from the preface to the French edition of the Principles of Philosophy is usually taken to represent Descartes' break with the past and with the fragmentation of knowledge of the schools. But if Descartes' tree of knowledge is analyzed in its proper context, another interpretation emerges. A series of contrasts with other classifications of knowledge from the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries raises some puzzles: claims of originality and radical break from the past do not seem warranted. Further contrasts with Descartes' unpublished writings and with school doctrines lead to the ironic conclusion that, in the famous passage, Descartes is attempting to appeal to conventional wisdom and trying to avoid sounding novel.

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Roger Ariew
University of South Florida

Citations of this work

Descartes and the Bologna affair.Gideon Manning - 2014 - British Journal for the History of Science 47 (1):1-13.
Against Passionate Epistemology.Saja Parvizian - 2023 - History of Philosophy Quarterly 40 (3):258-277.

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References found in this work

The advancement of learning.Francis Bacon - 1851 - New York: Modern Library. Edited by G. W. Kitchin.
The Advancement of Learning.Francis Bacon & G. W. Kitchin - 1958 - London: Everyman's Classic Library in Paperback. Edited by G. W. Kitchin.

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