Title: Philosophical Works
Author: René Descartes
Publisher: The Franklin Library, 1981. Limited edition, rare and out of print.
Condition: Full leather, dark blue. 24K gold gilt. Slight bump to corners. Very good condition.

René Descartes (31 March 1596 – 11 February 1650) was a French philosopher, mathematician, and writer who spent most of his adult life in the Dutch Republic. He has been dubbed the ‘Father of Modern Philosophy’, and much subsequent Western philosophy is a response to his writings, which are studied closely to this day. In particular, his Meditations on First Philosophy continues to be a standard text at most university philosophy departments. Descartes’ influence in mathematics is equally apparent; the Cartesian coordinate system — allowing reference to a point in space as a set of numbers, and allowing algebraic equations to be expressed as geometric shapes in a two-dimensional coordinate system (and conversely, shapes to be described as equations) — was named after him. He is credited as the father of analytical geometry, the bridge between algebra and geometry, crucial to the discovery of infinitesimal calculus and analysis. Descartes was also one of the key figures in the Scientific Revolution and has been described as an example of genius.

He is perhaps best known for the philosophical statement “Cogito ergo sum” (French: Je pense, donc je suis; English: I think, therefore I am), found in part IV of Discourse on the Method (1637 – written in French but with inclusion of “Cogito ergo sum”) and §7 of part I of Principles of Philosophy (1644 – written in Latin).

CONTENTS:

Rules for the Direction of the Mind

Discourse on the Method of Rightly Conducting the Reason and Seeking for Truth in the Sciences

Meditations on the First Philosophy

Selections from Objections

The Passions of the Soul

About the edition:

A beautiful collector’s edition, this book features:

• Full deep blue top-grade leather binding
• Genuine 22k gold gilt to all edges, front design, spine, and back
• Silk moire endsheets
• Satin bookmark, sewn-in
• Hubbed spine with 5 raised bands
• Smyth-sewn binding for durability
• Premium acid-neutral archival paper that will not yellow