1st Edition

Descartes and Method A Search for a Method in Meditations

By Clarence A. Bonnen, Daniel E. Flage Copyright 1999
    321 Pages
    by Routledge

    320 Pages
    by Routledge

    Rene Descartes credited his success in philosophy, mathematics, and physics to the discovery of a universal method of inquiry, but he provided no systematic description of his method. Descartes and Method carefully examines Descartes' scattered remarks on his application and puts forward a systematic account of his method with particular attention to the role it plays in the Meditations.
    Daniel E. Flage and Clarence A. Bonnen boldly and convincingly argue against the orthodox conception that Descartes had no method. Through a rigorous and thorough examination, Flage and Bonnen unearth and explain the role of the method of analysis in the Meditations.
    Descartes and Method is a ground-breaking book that is sure to make a considerable impact on the philosophy community. Anyone wishing to gain a new understanding of Descartes's Meditations should read this book.

    Part I Descartes's Method 1. Analysis: The Search for Rules 2. Analysis: The Clarification of Ideas 3. Causation Part II Descartes's Meditations on First Philosophy 4. Meditation I: Doubts and Suppositions 5. Meditation II: The Beginning of the Ascent 6. Meditation III: Reaching the Peak, or Variations on the Existence and Idea of God 7. Meditation IV: Truth and Falsity: Reflections from the Summit 8. Meditation V: The Beginning of the Descent 9. Meditation VI: The World Restored 10. Circles

    Biography

    Clarence A. Bonnen, Daniel E. Flage

    'An interesting and valuable exposition.' - Philosophical Quarterly