Descartes' Bones (Kobo eBook)

Descartes' Bones By Russell Shorto Cover Image
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Description


Sixteen years after René Descartes' death in Stockholm in 1650, a pious French ambassador exhumed the remains of the controversial philosopher to transport them back to Paris. Thus began a 350-year saga that saw Descartes' bones traverse a continent, passing between kings, philosophers, poets, and painters.

But as Russell Shorto shows in this deeply engaging book, Descartes' bones also played a role in some of the most momentous episodes in history, which are also part of the philosopher's metaphorical remains: the birth of science, the rise of democracy, and the earliest debates between reason and faith. Descartes' Bones is a flesh-and-blood story about the battle between religion and rationalism that rages to this day.

A New York Times Notable Book

Product Details
ISBN-13: 9780385528375
Publisher: Vintage
Publication Date: October 13th, 2008
Language: