Another Side of Descartes.
If you have heard only one thing about Descartes, you have heard of his 'Cogito' - usually translated as "I think, therefore I am". In this book you will learn how important the human capacity to feel is for this philosopher. If you know only one thing about Descartes, you probably know that he was a metaphysical dualist. That is, he thought the universe is divided into two substances: mind and matter. On this picture mind, unlike matter, is not bound by the laws of physics nor it is even located in space. This metaphysical view faces a famous question. How does this non-material mind cause events in the physical body (like the raising of an arm)? In this book, you will learn that there is another, equally vexing question. How does a state in the body (say, the gut-wrench of fear) cause an event in the mind (the idea 'this is scary!'). This latter question has not received nearly enough attention. In the late 20th and early 21st centuries, it is quite common for philosophers to accuse Descartes of ignoring the visceral and emotional aspects of life and equating all thought with reason alone. In THE PASSIONS OF THE SOUL he belies this reading with the proclamation, "all the good and evil of this life depend on [the passions] alone". (Part III, Article 212)
