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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."

3 of 165 comments (clear)

  1. Re:So by SpeedyDX · · Score: 1, Redundant

    Which text? Text of the letter? TFA says that "the letter would be published in a collection later this year."

    As for the Meditations, Dr. Jonathan Bennett does a wonderful job of translating early modern works into modern English so that they're more clear and accessible. Here are the Meditations: http://www.earlymoderntexts.com/de.html

  2. ...And René Descartes by the+darn · · Score: 0, Redundant

    was a drunken fart, "I drink therefore I am!"

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    Ceci n'est pas un post.
    1. Re:...And René Descartes by geekoid · · Score: 0, Redundant

      Cheers Bruce!

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      The Kruger Dunning explains most post on /. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dunning%E2%80%93Kruger_effect