Descartes' system of natural philosophy / Stephen Gaukroger.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Gaukroger, Stephen, author.

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Descartes, René, 1596-1650.

Descartes, René.

Physical Description:

1 online resource (viii, 258 pages) : digital, PDF file(s).

Edition:

1st ed.

Place of Publication:

Cambridge : Cambridge University Press, 2002.

Language Note:

English

Summary:

Towards the end of his life, Descartes published the first four parts of a projected six-part work, The Principles of Philosophy. This was intended to be the definitive statement of his complete system of philosophy, dealing with everything from cosmology to the nature of human happiness. In this book, Stephen Gaukroger examines the whole system, and reconstructs the last two parts, 'On Living Things' and 'On Man', from Descartes' other writings. He relates the work to the tradition of late Scholastic textbooks which it follows, and also to Descartes' other philosophical writings, and he examines the ways in which Descartes transformed not only the practice of natural philosophy but also our understanding of what it is to be a philosopher. His book is a comprehensive examination of Descartes' complete philosophical system.

Contents:

Cover; Half-title; Title; Copyright; Contents; Preface; References to Descartes' works; Introduction; CHAPTER 1 Before the Principia; CHAPTER 2 The Principia and the Scholastic textbook tradition; CHAPTER 3 Principia, Part I: The principles of knowledge; CHAPTER 4 Principia, Part II: The principles of material objects; CHAPTER 5 Principia, Part III: The visible universe; CHAPTER 6 Principia, Part IV: The Earth; CHAPTER 7 Principia, Part V: Living things; CHAPTER 8 Principia, Part VI: Man; Bibliography; Index

Notes:

Title from publisher's bibliographic system (viewed on 05 Oct 2015).

Includes bibliographical references (p. 247-254) and index.

ISBN:

1-107-12486-7

0-521-00525-6

9786610419333

0-511-32945-8

1-280-41933-4

0-511-17619-8

0-511-04478-X

0-511-60622-2

0-511-15694-4

OCLC:

475916845