Philosophy as Descartes Found It: Practice and Theory

What was philosophy as Descartes found it around 1620? What was philosophy like before Descartes reformed it after 1637? What features of philosophy did he want to fix, and what tools did he use? To answer such questions, how should philosophers do their work today? One answer is surprising: that Descartes wrote picture books, for example. Another is challenging: that philosophers in the present would be better students of their discipline's past if they spent less time on past philosophy a...