Product Description

René Descartes (1596-1650) had a remarkably short working life, and his output was small, yet his contributions to philosophy and science have endured to the present day. He is perhaps best known for his statement 'Cogito, ergo sum'. By a mixture of 'intuition' and 'deduction' Descartes derived from the 'cogito' principle first the existence of a material world. But Descartes did not intend the metaphysics to stand apart from his scientific work, which included important investigations into physics, mathematics, psychology, and optics. In this book Tom Sorrell shows that Descartes was, above all, an advocate and practitioner of a new mathematical approach to physics, and that he developed his metaphysics to support his programme in the sciences.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #161924 in Books
• Published on: 2000-10-12
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Paperback
• 128 pages

About the Author
Tom Sorell is Professor of Philosophy at the University of Essex. He is the author of Hobbes (1986), Moral Theory and Capital Punishment (1987), Scientism (1991), and editor of The Rise of Modern Philosophy (1993) and The Cambridge Companion to Hobbes (1995).

Customer Reviews

Recommended as an introduction
This book is both short and easy to read. Its a good starting point for those who are trying to grasp a framework about Descartes and what he did.
The author has put a lot of effort into breaking down the book into short chapters - this makes the book manageable and keeps you interested. Each chapter covers a new area.