Correspondence with Descartes
Assigned by 1 of the 9 reading lists, catalogue entry only
- Written
- 1643-1649
- Language
- French
- Length
- Short · 110 ppunder 120 pages
- Difficulty
- Demanding3 of 5 for a first-year reader
We recommendThe Correspondence between Princess Elisabeth of Bohemia and Rene Descartes, translated by Lisa ShapiroUniversity of Chicago Press, 2007The first complete English edition of both sides of the exchange, with an introduction that takes Elisabeth's objections seriously as philosophy.
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Six years of letters between the exiled Palatine princess and Descartes, begun when she asked him the question his Meditations had left unanswered: how an unextended thinking soul can move a body. His replies never satisfy her, and the objection has been repeated ever since. The exchange then turns to how to live. Elisabeth describes her own illnesses, her family's misfortunes and her difficulty in following the advice to control the passions by thought, and presses Descartes on Seneca's account of the happy life, on the value of the passions, and on the tension between free will and divine providence.
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The catalogue entry above is complete: the dates, the form, the themes and every program that assigns Correspondence with Descartes are verified against each program's published list.
What is missing is the part that takes real work: the summary, the key passages, and a recommended translation. The edition named below is the one most programs assign, so the buy links are useful already.
