The Young Descartes
Nobility, Rumor, and War
9780226462967
9780226540092
The Young Descartes
Nobility, Rumor, and War
René Descartes is best known as the man who coined the phrase “I think, therefore I am.” But though he is remembered most as a thinker, Descartes, the man, was no disembodied mind, theorizing at great remove from the worldly affairs and concerns of his time. Far from it. As a young nobleman, Descartes was a soldier and courtier who took part in some of the greatest events of his generation—a man who would not seem out of place in the pages of The Three Musketeers.
In The Young Descartes, Harold J. Cook tells the story of a man who did not set out to become an author or philosopher—Descartes began publishing only after the age of forty. Rather, for years he traveled throughout Europe in diplomacy and at war. He was present at the opening events of the Thirty Years' War in Central Europe and Northern Italy, and was also later involved in struggles within France. Enduring exile, scandals, and courtly intrigue, on his journeys Descartes associated with many of the most innovative free thinkers and poets of his day, as well as great noblemen, noblewomen, and charismatic religious reformers. In his personal life, he expressed love for men as well as women and was accused of libertinism by his adversaries.
These early years on the move, in touch with powerful people and great events, and his experiences with military engineering and philosophical materialism all shaped the thinker and philosopher Descartes became in exile, where he would begin to write and publish, with purpose. But though it is these writings that made ultimately made him famous, The Young Descartes shows that this story of his early life and the tumultuous times that molded him is sure to spark a reappraisal of his philosophy and legacy.
In The Young Descartes, Harold J. Cook tells the story of a man who did not set out to become an author or philosopher—Descartes began publishing only after the age of forty. Rather, for years he traveled throughout Europe in diplomacy and at war. He was present at the opening events of the Thirty Years' War in Central Europe and Northern Italy, and was also later involved in struggles within France. Enduring exile, scandals, and courtly intrigue, on his journeys Descartes associated with many of the most innovative free thinkers and poets of his day, as well as great noblemen, noblewomen, and charismatic religious reformers. In his personal life, he expressed love for men as well as women and was accused of libertinism by his adversaries.
These early years on the move, in touch with powerful people and great events, and his experiences with military engineering and philosophical materialism all shaped the thinker and philosopher Descartes became in exile, where he would begin to write and publish, with purpose. But though it is these writings that made ultimately made him famous, The Young Descartes shows that this story of his early life and the tumultuous times that molded him is sure to spark a reappraisal of his philosophy and legacy.
288 pages | 14 halftones, 2 line drawings | 6 x 9 | © 2018
History: European History, History of Ideas
Philosophy: History and Classic Works
Reviews
Table of Contents
Preface
Part 1 Mysteries: Remains of a Hidden Life
Part 2 A France of Broken Families
Part 3 Gearing Up for War: Mathematical Inspirations
Part 4 War and Diplomacy in Europe
Part 5 The Struggle for France
Part 6 Not Yet Concluded
Part 1 Mysteries: Remains of a Hidden Life
Words on Paper
In Search of a Person behind the Words
In Search of a Person behind the Words
Part 2 A France of Broken Families
Families
Politiques
Breaking with His Father
Aristocratic Paris
Libertine Paris
A Political Education
Politiques
Breaking with His Father
Aristocratic Paris
Libertine Paris
A Political Education
Part 3 Gearing Up for War: Mathematical Inspirations
Breda
Military Engineering
Meeting Isaac Beeckman
The Holy Roman Empire
Anxious Dreams
Curious Meetings
Military Engineering
Meeting Isaac Beeckman
The Holy Roman Empire
Anxious Dreams
Curious Meetings
Part 4 War and Diplomacy in Europe
Into Bohemia
To Hungary and Disaster
The Baltic and Return to The Netherlands
Again in France
Paris and the Rosicrucian Scare
The Valtellina and Rome
To Hungary and Disaster
The Baltic and Return to The Netherlands
Again in France
Paris and the Rosicrucian Scare
The Valtellina and Rome
Part 5 The Struggle for France
Problems with the Cardinal
The Campaign for La Rochelle
Confrontation and Departure
The Campaign for La Rochelle
Confrontation and Departure
The Meetings
Confrontation and Conversation
Becoming a Sectarian
Feeling Threatened
Exile
Confrontation and Conversation
Becoming a Sectarian
Feeling Threatened
Exile
Part 6 Not Yet Concluded
Chronological Table
List of Early Correspondence and Publications
Acknowledgments
For Further Reading
Notes
Index
List of Early Correspondence and Publications
Acknowledgments
For Further Reading
Notes
Index
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