Descartes' Meditations: A Critical GuideKaren Detlefsen Descartes's Meditations, one of the most influential works in western philosophy, continues to provoke discussion and debate. This volume of original essays by leading established and emerging early modern scholars ranges over all six of the Meditations and explores issues such as scepticism, judgement, causation, the nature of meditation and the meditator's relation to God, the nature of personhood, Descartes' theory of sense perception, and his ideas on the nature of substance. The contributors bring new insights to both central and less-studied topics in the Meditations, and connect the work with the rich historical and intellectual context in which Descartes forged his thought. The resulting volume will appeal to a wide range of scholars of early modern thought. |
Contents
SKEPTICISM | 9 |
Descartes and content skepticism | 25 |
and material falsity 127 | 36 |
how Descartes | 45 |
the nature of Descartes mental substance | 64 |
Causation and causal axioms | 82 |
Sensation and knowledge of body in Descartes Meditations | 103 |
GARY HATFIELD | 128 |
Teleology and natures in Descartes Sixth Meditation | 157 |
The role ofwill in Descartes account ofjudgment | 176 |
God and meditation in Descartes Meazmzzarzs | 200 |
Cartesian selves | 226 |
| 243 | |
| 255 | |
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Common terms and phrases
accidents aflirm argues argument Aristotelian Arnauld attributes axiom beliefs Carriero Cartesian Cartesian skeptic causal claim clear and distinct clearly and distinctly cogito cognition color composite conceived conception of substance conservation corporeal corporeal substance deceived defined definition depends Descartes determined discussion doctrine doubt dream argument eflicient cause eminent containment epistemic epistemic virtue essence ex nihilo explain extended substance faculty final find finite first formal cause formally contain God’s existence Hobbes human hylomorphic indirect realism infinite inhere insofar intellect intrinsic judgment kind knowledge Malebranche material falsity materially false meditator’s metaphysics mind and body modes natural philosophy notion objective reality obscure perceive philosophy qualia qualities real distinction reason reflected relation represent scholastic Second Replies seems sensation sense sensory ideas sensory perception significant Sixth Meditation skepticism soul specific Suarez suflicient teleological account thinking substance thinking thing Third Meditation thought tion true truth underlying subject understanding