Meditations on First Philosophy
With Selections from the Objections and Replies
by Rene Descartes
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Available editions of Meditations on First Philosophy
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9780521552523,
Hardcover,
Cambridge Univ Pr,
1996
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9780521338578,
Paperback,
Cambridge Univ Pr,
1987
Other copies of 9780521338578 |
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9780521329668,
Hardcover,
Cambridge Univ Pr,
1987
None currently available |
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9780521558181,
Paperback,
Cambridge Univ Pr,
1996
Other copies of 9780521558181 |
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Publisher Notes
This authoritative translation by John Cottingham of the Meditations is taken from the much acclaimed three-volume Cambridge edition of the Philosophical Writings of Descartes. It is based on the best available texts and presents Descartes' central metaphysical writings in clear, readable modern English.
Excerpt
Some years ago I was struck by the large number of falsehoods that I had accepted as true in my childhood, and by the highly doubtful nature of the whole edifice that I had subsequently based on them. I realized that it was necessary, once in the course of my life, to demolish everything completely and start again right from the foundations if I wanted to establish anything at all in the sciences that was stable and likely to last. But the task looked an enormous one, and I began to wait until I should reach a mature enough age to ensure that no subsequent time of life would be more suitable for tackling such inquiries. This led me to put the project off for so long that I would now be to blame if by pondering over it any further I wasted the time still left for carrying it out. So today I have expressly rid my mind of all worries and arranged for myself a clear stretch of free time. I am here quite alone, and at last I will devote myself sincerely and without reservation to the general demolition of my opinions.
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