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  • © 2016

Descartes’ Treatise on Man and its Reception

  • Features 20 essays written by leading scholars that provide a detailed examination of L’Homme by René Descartes
  • Examines the early reception of the work as well as its influence on contemporary accounts of the role of physiology in understanding human perception and cognition
  • Offers readers an indispensible companion to early-modern physiology

Part of the book series: Studies in History and Philosophy of Science (AUST, volume 43)

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Table of contents (18 chapters)

  1. Front Matter

    Pages i-vi
  2. The Story of L’Homme

    • Delphine Antoine-Mahut
    Pages 1-29
  3. Editions and Translations of L’Homme

    1. Front Matter

      Pages 31-31
    2. L’Homme in English

      • Stephen Gaukroger
      Pages 63-67

About this book

This edited volume features 20 essays written by leading scholars that provide a detailed examination of L’Homme by René Descartes. It explores the way in which this work developed themes not just on questions such as the circulation of the blood, but also on central questions of perception and our knowledge of the world.

Coverage first offers a critical discussion on the different versions of L'Homme, including the Latin, French, and English translations and the 1664 editions. Next, the authors examine the early reception of the work, from the connection of L'Homme to early-modern Dutch Cartesianism to Nicolas Steno's criticism of the work and how Descartes' clock analogy is used to defend two different conceptions of the articulation between anatomical observations and functional hypotheses.

The book then goes on to explore L'Homme and early-modern anthropology as well as the how the work has been understood and incorporated into the worksof scientists, physicians, and philosophers over the last 150 years.

Overall, readers will discover how the trend over the last few decades to understand human cognition in neuro-physiological terms can be seen to be not something unprecedented, but rather a revival of a way of dealing with these fundamental questions that was pioneered by Descartes.

Editors and Affiliations

  • Département de Sciences Humaines, CERPHI, IHRIM, CNRS, UMR 5317. ENS de Lyon, Lyon Cédex 07, France

    Delphine Antoine-Mahut

  • Unit for the History and Philosophy of Science, University of Sydney, Sydney, Australia

    Stephen Gaukroger

Bibliographic Information

  • Book Title: Descartes’ Treatise on Man and its Reception

  • Editors: Delphine Antoine-Mahut, Stephen Gaukroger

  • Series Title: Studies in History and Philosophy of Science

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-46989-8

  • Publisher: Springer Cham

  • eBook Packages: History, History (R0)

  • Copyright Information: Springer International Publishing AG 2016

  • Hardcover ISBN: 978-3-319-46987-4Published: 24 January 2017

  • Softcover ISBN: 978-3-319-83631-7Published: 17 July 2018

  • eBook ISBN: 978-3-319-46989-8Published: 16 January 2017

  • Series ISSN: 1871-7381

  • Series E-ISSN: 2215-1958

  • Edition Number: 1

  • Number of Pages: VI, 304

  • Number of Illustrations: 28 b/w illustrations

  • Topics: History of Science, History of Philosophy

Buy it now

Buying options

eBook USD 99.00
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Available as EPUB and PDF
  • Read on any device
  • Instant download
  • Own it forever
Softcover Book USD 129.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Compact, lightweight edition
  • Dispatched in 3 to 5 business days
  • Free shipping worldwide - see info
Hardcover Book USD 129.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Durable hardcover edition
  • Dispatched in 3 to 5 business days
  • Free shipping worldwide - see info

Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout

Other ways to access