"Descartes is rightly considered the father of modern philosophy" - Schopenhauer "The effect of this man on his age and the new age cannot be imagined broadly enough... René Descartes is indeed the true beginner of modern philosophy, insofar as it makes thinking the principle. "- Hegel "Descartes was the first to bring to light the idea of a transcendental science, which is to contain a system of knowledge of the conditions of possibility of all knowledge." - Kant A new (...) 2023 translation directly from the original manuscripts into English of Descartes' famous work "Rules for the Direction of the Mind" (Règles pour la direction de l'esprit). This edition contains a new introduction and afterword from the translator, as well as a timeline of Descartes' life and summaries of each of his works. Here, Descartes lays out a method for approaching problems and seeking knowledge. The importance of this work lies in the fact that it established the scientific method as a way of investigating the world, and had a significant influence on the development of modern science. This work is one of the foundational texts of Western Philosophy. (shrink)

Principles of Philosophy. Author’s Letter to the Translator (Preface).

Cet ouvrage est une réédition numérique d’un livre paru au XXe siècle, désormais indisponible dans son format d’origine.

Après avoir lu les Méditations métaphysiques, la jeune Elisabeth de Bohême demande à s’entretenir avec Descartes pour obtenir des réponses. Ainsi naît, entre un philosophe déjà vieux et une princesse mélancolique, une conversation épistolaire qui durera sept ans, jusqu’à la mort de Descartes en 1650. Ils discuteront aussi bien de mathématiques et de géométrie que de l’union de l’âme et du corps, des passions, du bonheur et de Dieu. Sans jamais renier sa pensée – bien plutôt en la fortifiant –, (...) Descartes diagnostiquera à la jeune femme un excès de cartésianisme : pour la soigner, il valorisera les plaisirs de la vie courante, le repos de l’esprit et le manque de sérieux. Ce volume rassemble la correspondance intégrale entre Descartes et Elisabeth, ainsi que des lettres du philosophe à divers correspondants, dont le médecin Regius, Christine, reine de Suède, et Chanut, ambassadeur de France en Suède. (shrink)

Group 3 as Sc–Y–La, rather than Sc–Y–Lu, dominates the literature. The history of this situation, including involvement by the IUPAC, is summarised. I step back from the minutiae of physical, chemical, and electronic properties and explore considerations of regularity and symmetry, natural kinds, and quantum mechanics, finding these to be inconclusive. Continuing the theme, a series of ten interlocking arguments, in the context of a chemistry-based periodic table, are presented in support of lanthanum in Group 3. In so doing, I (...) seek to demonstrate a new way of thinking about this matter. The last of my ten arguments is recast as a twenty-word categorical philosophical (viewpoint-based) statement. (shrink)

Rene Descartes has been described as the "father" of modern philosophy. This selection of Descartes' writings attempt to answer central questions surrounding self, God, free-will and knowledge, using the science of thought as opposed to received wisdom based on the tenets of faith.

How is it possible for a picture to depict a picture? Proponents of perceptual theories of depiction, who argue that the content of a picture is determined, in part, by the visual state it elicits in suitable viewers, that is, by a state of seeing-in, have given a plausible answer to this question. They say that a picture depicts a picture, in part, because, under appropriate conditions of observation, a suitable viewer will be able to see a picture in the (...) picture. In this article, I first argue that this answer is in conflict with the way in which some of the most influential perceptual theories of depiction – Robert Hopkins's version of the experienced resemblance theory and Dominic Lopes's version of the recognition theory – construe seeing-in. I then formulate a version of the recognition theory that avoids this conflict and show how it can explain the depiction of pictures. (shrink)

In this article, we distinguish between a ‘game code of conduct’, an ‘ethical and/or legal code of the military profession’, ‘codes of social intercourse’, and a ‘code of respect’, and we assess to what extent these codes are reflected in the chivalrous behaviour we see today. Chivalry has developed from archaic medieval game codes of conduct into a codification regarding the laws of war and humanitarian law, but also in behavioural standards that are formalized in books of etiquette. However, these (...) forms of moral codes of conduct do not overcome the problem of benevolent sexism, due to the fact that ‘chivalry’ is in essence a masculine ideology that excludes women from the military profession. Eventually, chivalric codes of social intercourse might develop into a code of respect, which may solve this issue. (shrink)

In this reproduction of his original publication of 1649, Rene Descartes discusses how seekers of knowledge can best attain true insight of the world around them. Often referred to as simply the Discourse on the Method, this work is frequently cited as one of the most important to appear during the Enlightenment era. It discusses the ideal means through which those in search of knowledge can approach the world, and the practice of science, as a means of attaining true and (...) definitive insight. The Discourse on Method is influential chiefly for its role in establishing the scientific method; a technique which scientists have used to make valid discoveries over the centuries. Descartes instructs the reader to doubt everything, and to use this universal doubt as a starting point from which to approach a problem. In addition to matters of science, Descartes reflects upon his own personal, religious beliefs. In addition to his Method, Descartes also explains certain social and personal notions such as obeying the laws and statutes of his country and prioritizing self-advancement over the achievement of material wealth or fortune. Famous for including the much-quoted phrase "Je pense, donc je suis" - "I think, therefore I am" - the Discourse on Method today stands as a crucial cornerstone of countless educational courses on philosophy. (shrink)

Is een wetenschap van de meteoros mogelijk of niet? -- Catastrofe: omhoog en omlaag -- De dwangmiddelen van Aristoteles -- Als een god onder de mensen -- De aarzelingen van Descartes -- De grote oceaan van Torricelli -- De zwakke vuist van het klimaat -- Denken over het ondenkbare -- Het elastiek van de (on)waarschijnlijkheid -- Tussen fatalisme en overmoed.

Genau 150 Jahre nach dem Erscheinen der letzten vollständig zu nennenden Ausgabe der Odysseescholien von W. Dindorf (Oxford 1855) legt Filippomaria Pontani (im folgenden: P.) ein Buch vor, das berechtigten Anlaß zur Hoffnung gibt, daß das dringende Desiderat einer vollständigen Neuausgabe dieses Scholiencorpus endlich erfüllt werden wird. Als der kürzlich verstorbene Doyen der Homerscholienforschung, Hartmut Erbse, 1966 einen Neudruck von Ludwichs Specimina mit den Scholien zu Od. 1.1–309 besorgen ließ, äußerte er im Vorwort fast beschwörend den Wunsch, daß “Ludwichs gutgemeinter, (...) aber eben doch unfertiger Text einen jungen Gelehrten dazu anregen sollte, das ganze Werk von Grund auf zu erneuern und zu vervollständigen”. P. ist sichtlich gewillt (S. 5) und, nach dem zu besprechenden Buch zu schließen, auch fähig, diese schwierige, aber zweifellos lohnende Aufgabe zu übernehmen. Das Buch stellt gewissermaßen die Prolegomena zu einer Neuedition der Odysseescholien dar, weshalb das Augenmerk insbesondere auf der paläographischen, papyrologischen, kodikologischen, überlieferungsgeschichtlichen und textkritischen Untersuchung des Materials liegt, das die Grundlage einer (Neu-)Edition bildet. Aber das Buch leistet mehr, was maßgeblich an P.s Grundüberzeugung liegt, “che ogni manoscritto rappresenti il frutto di un'intenzione precisa, comprensibile solo in una determinata cornice storica e geografica” (S. 6). Diesem historischen und geographischen Kontext spürt P. denn auch durchweg und mit viel Akribie nach. Dadurch erfährt der Leser viel, was deutlich über das hinausgeht, was üblicherweise in einem Prolegomena-Band zu einer kritischen Ausgabe zu lesen ist. Zu einem gewissen Grad wird auch die Anordnung des Materials davon tangiert. (shrink)

Dernier ouvrage publie par Descartes, le Traite des Passions de l'ame (1649) est le fruit de toute sa philosophie. Ce traite, qui s'appuie sur un resume de la biologie cartesienne, s'oriente vers une medecine concrete des affections psycho-physiologiques et s'epanouit en une apologie de la generosite. Aux observations scientifiques, Descartes ne dedaigne pas d'adjoindre des notations psychologiques dont la finesse evoque parfois ces maximes qui fleurissaient dans les salons au XVIIe siecle. Ainsi l'ampleur des conclusions scientifiques, morales et metaphysiques, sources (...) d'etudes toujours renaissantes pour les specialistes, se colore par surcroit d'une richesse vecue qui fait de ce Traite, ecrit pour une princesse et offert a une reine, le modele des ouvrages accessibles au plus grand public. (shrink)

Quels sont les liens entre phantasia et perception? Aristote a bien découvert en la première, rattachée à la seconde, la faculté de se représenter en l'absence. Il y a certes des cas de représentation en présence imputés à la phantasia, mais cet emploi du terme, qui renvoie à des situations infraperceptives, est plutôt résiduel. Ces cas pathologiques sont pour Aristote assez peu dignes d'intérêt. On ne peut dire que la phantasia « interprète ». What is the link between phantasia and (...) perception? Although it depends on aisthêsis itself, Aristotle calls phantasia a faculty of representing in absentia, of which he is the discoverer. Of course, some cases of representation in praesentia are attributed to phantasia, but this use of the word is not central; these cases are cases below perception proper, and pathology of perception is of minor interest in Aristotle's mind. Phantasia is not an interpretation of the data. (shrink)

Presentation times of study words presented in the Deese/Roediger and McDermott (DRM) paradigm varied from 20 to 2000 ms per word in an attempt to replicate the false memory effect following extremely short presentations reported by . Both in a within-subjects design (Experiment 1) and in a between-subjects design (Experiment 2) subjects showed memory for studied words as well as a false memory effect for related critical lures in the 2000-ms condition. However, in the conditions with shorter presentation times (20 (...) ms in Experiment 1; 20 and 40 ms in Experiment 2) no memory for studied words, nor a false memory effect was found. We argue that there is at present no strong evidence supporting the claim for a nonconscious basis of the false memory effect. (shrink)

Hydrogen is troublesome in any periodic table classification. This being so it may as well be placed in a position that confers desirable attributes to the arrangement of the elements, while notionally recognising its lineage to the group 1 alkali metals and the group 17 halogens. Since the noble gases bridge the halogens and the alkali metals, and hydrogen encompasses the transition from the alkali metals to the halogens, there is more to the idea of hydrogen over helium. (Meyer 1870, (...) p. 357) (Proust 1927, p. 559). (shrink)

Authentique zoologue, Aristote fait de l’homme un animal parmi d’autres au sein des êtres naturels. Les travaux scientifiques, cependant, malgré des rapprochements, mettent déjà en évidence sa singularité, tandis que l’animal non humain, considéré comme dépourvu de raison malgré des nuances, est exclu du champ de l’éthique dont la bestialité marque la limite. La vertu se conquiert en grande partie contre la part animale de l’homme mais l’animal en est incapable au sens strict. L’animal n’a guère valeur de modèle et (...) la lecture d’Aristote fournit peu d’arguments immédiatement exploitables en faveur de sa protection. (shrink)

In a full survey of the programme and reports produced by the Seventh Assembly of the World Council of Churches in Canberra, René Padilla notes that though the theme was the Holy Spirit, Pentecostalism continued to be under suspicion in ecumenical circles. The life of the Assembly also illustrated the fact that the WCC must address the limits of theological pluralism and can no longer afford to maintain a separation between its confessional basis and its programmes.

This is a book that we would enthusiastically recommend to those who unconditionally believe in the epistemologically or politically unproblematic character of organisational research. Carl Rhodes, once an employee of the Boston Consulting Group, now researcher at the University of Technology, Sydney, has written a small yet important book about academic writing on organisation. It has appeared in a small but interesting collection called Advances in Organization Studies that is edited by Stewart Clegg and Alfred Kieser and published by John (...) Benjamins. Rhodes’ book resonates well with developed traditions in narrative and storytelling approaches to management and organisation studies. Such traditions have approached organisational knowledge from a narrative perspective1 and used narrative and literary methods to understand organisations.2 More specifically, Rhodes both draws on and contributes to an understanding of the relationship between narrative and power3 and to using multiple interpretations and representations in research.4 However, although we would argue that it is possible to identify Rhodes’ position in the field, ‘summing up’ in his own terms what he has to say is not easy. His central point seems to be that conclusively singular representations, perhaps including the one that we give here, are problematical from both an ethical and political perspective. One may be tempted to discard this as yet another postmodernist frivolity, but we would suggest that what writers and researchers in organisation studies, and the social sciences more generally, might get from this work is an increased sensitivity to the ethics of their writing practices. We intend in this review essay not so much to provide the reader with a neat survey of Rhodes’ book as to build further on some of its ideas. And in doing so, we will highlight its philosophical underpinnings not only because we think that these are especially interesting for the readers of this journal but also because we think that some of them are problematical. We have tried to provide a fairly neutral reconstruction of Rhodes’ argument in the first three sections below, and from the fourth section onwards — ‘authorless writing’ — we question some of Rhodes’ assumptions and ideas. While we are enthused by the questions raised in this book and indeed by the way the overall argument is presented, we will also claim that in places he seems to succumb to an anti-realist and anti-authoritarian position that we regard as unnecessarily radical. (shrink)

t. 1. Escritos filosóficos -- t. 2. Escritos literarios.

This work has been selected by scholars as being culturally important, and is part of the knowledge base of civilization as we know it. This work was reproduced from the original artifact, and remains as true to the original work as possible. Therefore, you will see the original copyright references, library stamps (as most of these works have been housed in our most important libraries around the world), and other notations in the work.This work is in the public domain in (...) the United States of America, and possibly other nations. Within the United States, you may freely copy and distribute this work, as no entity (individual or corporate) has a copyright on the body of the work.As a reproduction of a historical artifact, this work may contain missing or blurred pages, poor pictures, errant marks, etc. Scholars believe, and we concur, that this work is important enough to be preserved, reproduced, and made generally available to the public. We appreciate your support of the preservation process, and thank you for being an important part of keeping this knowledge alive and relevant. (shrink)

In one of his admirable letters to Princess Elizabeth, Descartes asserts that the best way to overcome the annoyances of life is to “divert one's imagination and one's senses away from them as much as possible and to make use merely of one's understanding in dealing with them.” This advice is not easy to follow, and one of the devil's principal tricks is to identify himself so profoundly with our intimate concerns that, in disowning him, we come to believe that (...) we disown ourselves. It sometimes seems that man cares more for his misery than for his pleasure.But whether easy or not to follow, the advice is good. To convert the evil which oppresses you, insofar as possible, into a knot to untie, a safety lock to take apart, a problem to resolve, is to detach it from yourself; it is no longer me, it is mine. I can censure it and perhaps even pin it down. When one can state the evil, then what remains is only half-evil. (shrink)

This chapter pursues a threefold aim: to clarify Kierkegaard's philosophical conception of psychology, to examine the principal reasons for his absence in the work of present‐day psychologists, and to argue for the relevance of his thinking for contemporary psychology. A concise historical sketch of the development of contemporary psychology as an independent scientific discipline brings out the reasons why academic psychologists today have difficulty appreciating philosophical psychology in general, and Kierkegaard's version in particular. This historical sketch allows for a systematic (...) presentation of Kierkegaard's philosophical conception of psychology, focusing on six concepts that are still at the forefront of current psychological research. This presentation unfolds the principal argument of the chapter; namely, that the question of autonomy—in terms of the intricate entanglement of activity and passivity—is the fundamental philosophical problem at the heart of Kierkegaard's psychology. The chapter ends with an outline of how Kierkegaard's exploration of the problem of autonomy can contribute to contemporary psychology. (shrink)

This article argues that Kierkegaard’s account of emotions has something important to contribute to contemporary philosophy of emotions. The argument proceeds in five steps. The first section starts by outlining two influential paradigms in contemporary philosophy of emotions: the feeling theories and the cognitive theories. The second section then turns to a critique of two prominent approaches that read Kierkegaard’s conception of emotions as belonging to the cognitive theories. The third section presents Kierkegaard as a phenomenologist of emotional ambiguity, while (...) the fourth section attempts to outline a taxonomy of Kierkegaard’s phenomenology of emotional experience. The fifth and final section argues that Kierkegaard’s primary contribution to contemporary philosophy of emotions is to be found in his concept of anxiety as the experience of human freedom particularly with respect to the ambiguity of feeling and understanding characteristic of this fundamental affective phenomenon. (shrink)