Descartes' Meditations
Background Source Materials

Texts translated from the French and Latin serve to illustrate the context of the writing of Descartes' Meditations.

Roger Ariew (Edited by), John Cottingham (Edited by), Tom Sorell (Edited by)

9780521485791, Cambridge University Press

Paperback, published 28 July 1998

292 pages
23.6 x 15.4 x 1.9 cm, 0.436 kg

"With its crisp translations, its clear introductions to often obscure primary sources, and its pedagogical concern to link these texts to perennial issues in interpreting the Meditations, this sourcebook should serve as an excellent text in a graduate or honors seminar focused on Descartes." International Philosophical Quarterly

No single text could be considered more important in the history of philosophy than Descartes' Meditations. This unique collection of background material to this magisterial philosophical text has been translated from the original French and Latin. The texts gathered here illustrate the kinds of principles, assumptions, and philosophical methods that were commonplace when Descartes was growing up. The selections are from: Francisco Sanches, Christopher Clavius, Pierre de la Ramee (Petrus Ramus), Francisco Suárez, Pierre Charron, Eustachius a Sancto Paulo, Scipion Dupleix, Marin Mersenne, Pierre Gassendi, Jean de Silhon, François de la Mothe le Vayer, Charles Sorel, and Jean-Baptiste Morin.

Introduction
1. That nothing is known Francisco Sanches
2. The promotion of mathematics Christopher Clavius
3. Dialectic Petrus Ramus
4. Metaphysical disputations Francisco Suárez
5. Wisdom Pierre Charron
6. A compendium of philosophy in four parts Eustachius a Sancto Paulo
7. Corpus of philosophy Scipion Dupleix
8. The use of reason: the impiety of the deists: the truth of the sciences Marin Mersenne
9. Unorthodox essays against the Aristotelians Pierre Gassendi
10. The two truths: the immortality of the soul Jean de Silhon
11. Dialogue on the diversity of religions: little skeptical treatise François de La Mothe le Vayer
12. Universal science Charles Sorel
13. That God exists Jean-Baptiste Morin
Appendix: condemnations of Cartesianism
Notes
Bibliography
Comparative table of passages from Meditations.

Subject Areas: History of ideas [JFCX], Western philosophy: c 1600 to c 1900 [HPCD]