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takhykardia's review against another edition
Read this with my reading group.
Descartes lost me in Meditation 3 and never managed to get me back. Meditation 5 is so useless and the second proof of God displayed there is so idiotic. Frustrating as a whole, but the first principle (man) which he sets out from is good. Spinoza is next.
Descartes lost me in Meditation 3 and never managed to get me back. Meditation 5 is so useless and the second proof of God displayed there is so idiotic. Frustrating as a whole, but the first principle (man) which he sets out from is good. Spinoza is next.
skylarh's review against another edition
2.0
When I read this (in college) I was not much of a non-fiction reader. Now, I read mostly nonfiction. So perhaps I would not find it as excruciatingly boring now as I did then. On the other hand, I think I just much prefer the subject of politics and theology to that of philosophy.
paigemcloughlin's review against another edition
4.0
The cornerstone of the modern liberal subject. Almost going by common sense nowadays the methodical doubt and near solipsistic outlook is the core of modern consciousness. From Matrix movies to Boltzmann brains to homo economicus you are soaking in it.
lastnameoptional's review against another edition
2.0
Reading this gave me a perception that Descartes argument for the existence of God, or really anything past Meditation Two, is paper-thin.
And to anyone who disagrees, know that this perception of mine was clear & distinct, so therefore it must be true.
And to anyone who disagrees, know that this perception of mine was clear & distinct, so therefore it must be true.
ajoypalm's review against another edition
4.0
I was surprised by how much I liked this. What it lacks in persuasive argument, it makes up for in cleverness and ingenuity. Descartes argues that the only thing you can truly be certain of is that you are a thinking thing since your senses could otherwise deceive you, and because you can think of pure math and God, which are ideas too perfect to have come from inside of you, this proves God exists which then means that you actually can be more certain of things like your senses.
mayajoelle's review against another edition
3.0
I wasn't completely convinced by every argument Descartes made, but I appreciated his desire to be honest and fair and his clarification that he doesn't necessarily believe everything he's saying, just that he must say it for the purpose of his logical argument. I already believed God exists but he offers another way of looking at it which I found more convincing than Anselm's (though not as much as Aquinas'). However, I can see how his complete separation of the mind and body has brought about many of the destructive tendencies of our culture.
All in all, worth reading, even if you disagree with him :)
All in all, worth reading, even if you disagree with him :)
sean_oelkers's review against another edition
challenging
informative
inspiring
mysterious
reflective
slow-paced
4.0
napoleanne's review against another edition
2.0
I read this for Logos, the philosophy/religion/literature discussion class I took my freshman year of college and, lord, did I hate Rene Descartes.
Wait, I still do.
Wait, I still do.