Londons Falling

Solid Compilation of The Meditations and Related Texts

Rating: 4/5
Comments:
The translator of this text (Desmond M. Clarke) chose to annex several of the Objections and Replies, correspondence between Descartes and his supporters, part one of The Principles of Philosophy, and Comments on a Certain Manifesto in order to broaden and contextually illuminate the essence of what comprises the core of this compilation, Meditations On First Philosophy, by Rene Descartes. Ambitious - but the result clearly imparts one a deeper understanding of what Descartes was trying to convey, and also puts his philosophy in the proper historical context. I'm actually quite glad that I purchased this text as opposed to merely the Meditations on First Philosophy alone, for The Meditations themselves are probably the least interesting part of this book. That's not to imply that what comprises The Meditations is uninteresting, just that greater things lie elsewhere. The Meditations themselves are clearly written and present several philosophical arguments to the reader - mind-body duality, an ontological argument for God, how to reason and judge correctly, ect - but suffers at times from simplistic over-explanation. However, this is scarcely a detriment, and is to be somewhat expected whenever one confronts the task of philosophizing logically and thoroughly. Following the meditations comes a selection of objections and replies, in which Descartes attempts to defend objections to what is expounded in The Meditations.
The Principles of First Philosophy follow, which is a somewhat more concise reiteration of ideas explored in The Meditations. The correspondence is extremely interesting, as the majority occurs between Descartes and Queen Elizabeth. Comments on a Certain Manifesto also adds greatly to this book, as Descartes explains and clarifies his views and responds to critics who attack him without having properly digested said views. The comments also include something which is only really touched upon in The Meditations; that is, that Descartes suggests that although much of what we judge and understand is based largely on sensory perception - and the abilities to reason and judge truthfully greatly benefit from this knowledge - that the capacity to think and reason is innate, and not something learned via sensory perception. He offers this in refutation to someone that he feels is bastardizing his views in Comments, and as support for the evidence of God in Meditations, but only explores it in detail in the former, opting for subtlety in the latter. Personally, I feel Descartes made somewhat of a mistake by - not so much simplifying so to speak - but being a little too ambiguous in Meditations. He was evidently attempting to rely on reason and reason alone, and it doing so, many people confused or misunderstood his ideas, as evidenced in the objections and replies. But the careful reader should not be prone to such misunderstanding(s).
Was Descartes correct in his reasoning? Much of it is logically sound, such as the assumption that thinking inherently necessitates existence, but many of it can and has been refuted or argued by subsequent philosophers. Some of the more obvious objections I have personally with Descarte's philosophy are assumptions - things like, although the mind appears indivisible, that does not make it evidently so, and although the body appears divisible - so much so that it can be separated from the mind without affecting the mind - this surely only remains true to the point where one tries to separate the mind from the brain. Although the brain can surely be separated from the mind, it is impossible to separate the mind from the brain, or the essence of what we understand to be the mind. The ontological argument for God is also a little fishy, somewhat of a tautology, and only really true if you believe in the necessity of an omnipotent, omniscient God to begin with. However, Descartes contributions to philosophy and general science should not be overlooked or diminished, and much of what is explored here remains logically sound.
This edition also includes a general introduction by the translator, notes on the translation wherever appropriate, and brief introductions before each particular section. This book proves to me, once again, why Penguin remains one of my favorite publishers of philosophy.

A Key Enlightenment Text

Rating: 4/5
Comments:
Arguably, this is the first philosophical text of the Enlightenment. Descartes famous cry 'Cogito Ergo Sum' was derived from this vary text, and all his other brilliant additions to philosophy are encoded within the pages as well.

This penguin addition includes Descartes letters of correspondence and various other writings (all of them wonderful reads).

I recommend this to ALL students interested in philosophy.