Self, Reason, and Freedom A New Light on Descartes' Metaphysics [Paperback]

Freedom and its internal relation to reason is fundamental to Descartes philosophy in general, and to his Meditations on First Philosophyin particular. Without freedom his entire enquiry would not get off the ground, and without understanding the r?le of freedom in his work, we could not understand what motivates key parts of his metaphysics. Yet, not only is freedom a relatively overlooked element, but its internal relation to reason has gone unnoticed by most studies of his philosophy.

Self, Reason, and Freedom: A New Light on Descartes Metaphysics, by defending freedoms internal relation to reason, sheds new light on Descartes metaphysics and restores the often dismissed Fourth Meditationto the core of his metaphysics as he conceived it. Implicit in that relation is a rejection of any authority external to reason. Andrea Christofidou shows how this lends strength and explanatory force to Descartes enquiry, and reveals his conception of the unity of the self and of its place in the world.

Self, Reason, and Freedom: A New Light on Descartes Metaphysicsis essential reading for students and scholars of Descartes and anyone studying seventeenth-century philosophy.

Introduction  1. Methodic doubt and the abyss of scepticism  2. The first certainty  3. Sum res cogitans  4. Thought and reality  5. Gods existence: The argument from clear and distinct ideas  6. Understanding, error, and the will  7. Freedom, truth, and goodness  8. The metaphysics of corporeality and Gods existence: The argument from Gods essence  9. The existence of the corporeal world and the metaphysics of substance  10. The real distinction and the absolute conception of reality  11. Conclusion.  Index

& a rich, serious exploration of Descartes Mediló*