Subsequent philosophy has grappled with Descartes's legacy, questioning many of its conclusions and even his basic approach, but his arguments set the agenda for many of the greatest philosophical thinkers, and their fascination endures. He develops new conceptions of body and mind, capable of serving as foundations for the new science of nature. Discovering his own existence as a thinking entity in the very exercise of doubt, he goes on to prove the existence of God, who guarantees his clear and distinct ideas as a means of access to the truth. In Descartes's Meditations, one of the key texts of Western philosophy, the thinker rejects all his former beliefs in the quest for new certainties. ' It is some years now since I realized how many false opinions I had accepted as true from childhood onwards.I saw that at some stage in my life the whole structure would have to be utterly demolished'

The edition includes an up-to-date bibliography, chronology, and index.

The text is referenced throughout to the page numbers of the standard edition (Adam and Tannery) which all Descartes scholarship refers to.

The notes clarify the text, indicate points of difficulty and nuances of Descartes's vocabulary.

Wide-ranging and accessible introduction places the work in the intellectual context of the time and discusses the nature of the work, its structure, key issues, and its influence on later thinkers.

It includes the Third and Fourth Objections and Replies in full, with extracts from the rest. The translation pays particular attention to Descartes's terminology and style, with its elaborate but beautifully lucid syntax, careful balancing, and rhetorical signposting.A new translation of one of the most influential texts in the history of Western philosophy, including substantial selections from the important Objections and Replies.Translated by Michael Moriarty Oxford World's Classics Meditations on First Philosophy with Selections from the Objections and Replies René Descartes Oxford Research Encyclopedias: Global Public Health.

The European Society of Cardiology Series.Oxford Commentaries on International Law.

Meditation of rene descartes