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Key Letter By Descartes Found After 170 Years

Schiphol writes of a long-lost letter by René Descartes to Marin Mersenne that has come to light at Haverford College, in Pennsylvania, where it had lain buried in the archives for more than a century. The discovery could revolutionize our view of one of the 17th-century French philosopher's major works. "[T]housands of treasured documents... vanished from the Institut de France in the mid-1800s, stolen by an Italian mathematician. Among them were 72 letters by René Descartes... Now one of those purloined letters has turned up at a small private college in eastern Pennsylvania... The letter, dated May 27, 1641, concerns the publication of Meditations on First Philosophy, a celebrated work whose use of reason and scientific methods helped to ignite a revolution in thought."

2 of 165 comments (clear)

  1. Meditations on First Philosophy by ByOhTek · · Score: 4, Insightful

    Chapter 1 was great, and ended in the pinnacle of the work "I think therefore I am".

    After that, he couldn't go any farther, so he decided that you couldn't trust the world without the presence of God. At which point, I lost interest.

    Chapter 1: A+
    Chapter >1: D

    --
    Self proclaimed typo king, and inventor of the bear destroying coffee table (patent not pending).
    1. Re:Meditations on First Philosophy by biryokumaru · · Score: 4, Insightful

      I believe his concern is that if you start on false premises, your argument is effectively meaningless. You could derive anything.

      --
      When you're afraid to download music illegally in your own home, then the terrorists have won!