Description
Book SynopsisIn the Louvre museum hangs a portrait of a middle-aged man and he is dressed in the starched white collar and black coat of the typical Dutch burgher. The painting is now the iconic image of Ren Descartes, the great seventeenth-century French philosopher. This book offers an exploration of a celebrated philosopher's world and work.
Trade Review"Steven Nadler has produced another gem of original research and lively and lucid writing."--Catherine Wilson, Times Literary Supplement "Riveting... In The Philosopher, the Priest, and the Painter, Nadler has ... written his most inviting book yet... Nadler's detective work makes for fascinating reading... [T]he resulting survey of Golden Age Dutch culture, Cartesian philosophy and art connoisseurship ... makes for ... very welcome intellectual entertainment."--Michael Dirda, Washington Post "[B]y situating him firmly in his time and place, [Nadler] makes clear what made Descartes the intellectual superstar of his day... [A]n original, intriguing set-up... [A]s an introduction to Descartes' philosophy, it is excellent."--David Wolf, Slate "As one would expect from a distinguished philosopher such as Nadler, the description of Descartes's philosophy, and in particular his Discourse (1637) and Meditations (1641), is flawless."--Jerry Brotton, Literary Review "Cartesian iconography centers around a widely known portrait of Descartes attributed to Frans Hals. In this book, Nadler uses the story of that painting's origin to present a study of Descartes and his philosophy that will be accessible to a wide audience... [T]his volume serves as a very good introduction to Descartes's philosophy in historical context."--Choice "[C]harming... Nadler, an American philosopher and author, has written an immensely readable introduction to Descartes."--Australian "[A] landscape (or at least a well-turned charcoal sketch) of religious, artistic, and economic life in the Netherlands during the first half of the 17th century... Nadler's book ... takes us back upstream a ways--beginning, rather than exempting us from, a dialog with the dead."--Scott McLemee, Inside Higher Ed "[A]bsorbing."--France Magazine "Nadler is appealing to a wider audience that is looking less for hard-nosed scholarship and more for a story to follow, some intrigue to pique the mind while telling the reader something interesting and informative about the life and work of Descartes. Insofar as the work is meant for a general audience, it accomplishes its aims well enough and should be well-received and enjoyed by those readers."--Aaron Massecar, European Legacy "Nadler gives us a remarkably accessible and historically rich picture of Descartes's life and thought. The book provides a reliable and lively introduction to Descartes for the general reader and for scholars a pleasant portrait of Descartes."--Peter M. Distelzweig, Journal of the History of Philosophy
Table of ContentsIllustrations ix Acknowledgments xiii Chapter 1 Prologue: A Tale of Two Paintings 1 Chapter 2 The Philosopher 8 Chapter 3 The Priest 36 Chapter 4 The Painter 55 Chapter 5 "Once in a Lifetime" 87 Chapter 6 A New Philosophy 111 Chapter 7 God in Haarlem 143 Chapter 8 The Portrait 174 Notes 199 Bibliography 219 Index 227
