Description
Book SynopsisProvides an analysis of the question that not only lies at the heart of Descartes' "Meditations", but also constitutes the preoccupation of philosophy. This book offers an account of Descartes' defense of reason against the skeptical doubts that one might be a madman, dreaming, or, worse yet, deceived by an evil demon into believing falsely.
Trade ReviewHarry G. Frankfurt, 2017 Charles Homer Haskins Prize Lecturer, American Council of Learned Societies
Table of ContentsForeword by Rebecca Goldstein vii Preface to the Princeton Edition xiii Preface xvii Part One: THE FIRST MEDITATION CHAPTER 1: Introduction 3 CHAPTER 2: The General Overthrow of Belief 19 CHAPTER 3: The Criterion of Doubt 32 CHAPTER 4: The Perception of the Physical World 43 CHAPTER 5: The Strategy of the First Meditation 60 CHAPTER 6: Simple and Universal Things 75 CHAPTER 7: Mathematics in the First Meditation 84 CHAPTER 8: Mathematics and the Omnipotent Deceiver 93 CHAPTER 9: Demons, Dreamers, and Madmen 108 Part Two: REASON AND ITS VALIDATION CHAPTER 10: Sum 123 CHAPTER 11: Sum res cogitans 154 CHAPTER 12: Clear and Distinct Perception 175 CHAPTER 13: Objections to Descartes's Rule of Evidence 200 CHAPTER 14: Memory and Doubt 215 CHAPTER 15: The Validation of Reason 235 CHAPTER 16: Truth and Reality: The Galileo Controversy 250 Index 257
