Meditations on First Philosophy

by René Descartes, Donald A. Cress (Translator)

Overview

Descartes's Meditations on First Philosophy, the fundamental and originating work of the modern era in Western philosophy, is presented here in Donald Cress's completely revised edition of his well-established translation, bringing this version even closer to Descartes's original, while maintaining its clear and accessible style.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780872201927
Publisher:	Hackett Publishing Company, Inc.
Publication date:	10/01/1993
Series:	Hackett Classics
Edition description:	Third Edition,3
Pages:	80
Product dimensions:	5.38(w) x 8.50(h) x (d)

About the Author

Donald A. Cress is Professor Emeritus of Philosophy, University of Wisconsin, Parkside. His translations of Descartes' Meditations on First Philosophy and Discourse on Method are also published by Hackett.

Table of Contents

Introduction

Translator’s Note

Meditations on First Philosophy

Dedication to the Sorbonne

Preface to the Reader

Synopsis of the Six Following Meditations

• First Meditation: Concerning Those Things Which Can Be Called into Doubt
  
  Second Meditation: Concerning the Nature of the Human Mind and the Fact that It Is Easier to Know than the Body
  
  Third Meditation: Concerning God and the Fact that He Exists
  
  Fourth Meditation: Concerning Truth and Falsity
  
  Fifth Meditation: Concerning the Essence of Material Things, and, Once Again, Concerning the Fact that God Exists
  
  Sixth Meditation: Concerning the Existence of Material Things and the Real Distinction between Mind and Body

Index

Editorial Reviews

The new version of Cress's translation of Descartes's Meditations has attained an unusually high degree of readability . . . and at the same time, of fidelity to the original.—Roger Ariew, University of South Florida, and Marjorie Grene (1910-2009), Virginia Polytechnic Institute

From the Publisher

"Descartes was living and writing at a tumultuous time, and Bailey does a nice job of sketching the intellectual environment into which the Meditations was launched, while pre-emptively warding off a number of common misunderstandings of Descartes's aims."

Seth Bordner

"A very helpful translation. The language is clear, and the supplementary material and notes lay out a cross-section of the interpretive debates, and provide tips for how a reader might approach them."

David Cunning

"Broadview Press has produced an excellent translation of Descartes's famous Meditations on First Philosophy. It is accurate, philosophically sensitive, and it rivals any of the translations currently available. Andrew Bailey's introduction of the text, and his biography of Descartes, is a real plus, and will serve students well."

Kurt Smith