Descartes's Method Of Doubt | Princeton University Press

Descartes's Method of Doubt

Janet Broughton

Paperback ISBN: 9780691117324 $47.00/£40.00 ebook (EPUB via app) ISBN: 9781400825042 $47.00/£40.00 ebook (PDF via app) ISBN: 9781400825042 $47.00/£40.00 Shipping to: Choose Country United States Canada United Kingdom Afghanistan Aland Islands Albania Algeria American Samoa Andorra Angola Anguilla Antarctica Antigua And Barbuda Argentina Armenia Aruba Australia Austria Azerbaijan Bahamas Bahrain Bangladesh Barbados Belarus Belgium Belize Benin Bermuda Bhutan Bolivia Bonaire, Sint Eustatius and Saba Bosnia And Herzegovina Botswana Bouvet Island Brazil British Indian Ocean Territory Brunei Darussalam Bulgaria Burkina Faso Burundi Cabo Verde Cambodia Cameroon Cayman Islands Central African Republic Chad Chile China Christmas Island Cocos (Keeling) Islands Colombia Comoros Congo Congo, Democratic Republic Cook Islands Costa Rica Cote D'Ivoire Croatia Cuba Curaçao Cyprus Czech Republic Denmark Djibouti Dominica Dominican Republic Ecuador Egypt El Salvador Equatorial Guinea Eritrea Estonia Ethiopia Falkland Islands (Malvinas) Faroe Islands Fiji Finland France French Guiana French Polynesia French Southern Territories Gabon Gambia Georgia Germany Ghana Gibraltar Greece Greenland Grenada Guadeloupe Guam Guatemala Guernsey Guinea Guinea-Bissau Guyana Haiti Heard Island & Mcdonald Islands Holy See (Vatican City State) Honduras Hong Kong Hungary Iceland India Indonesia Iran, Islamic Republic Of Iraq Ireland Isle Of Man Israel Italy Jamaica Japan Jersey Jordan Kazakhstan Kenya Kiribati Korea Korea People' Republic Of Kuwait Kyrgyzstan Lao People's Democratic Republic Latvia Lebanon Lesotho Liberia Libyan Arab Jamahiriya Liechtenstein Lithuania Luxembourg Macao Macedonia Madagascar Malawi Malaysia Maldives Mali Malta Marshall Islands Martinique Mauritania Mauritius Mayotte Mexico Micronesia, Federated States Of Moldova Monaco Mongolia Montenegro Montserrat Morocco Mozambique Myanmar Namibia Nauru Nepal Netherlands New Caledonia New Zealand Nicaragua Niger Nigeria Niue Norfolk Island Northern Mariana Islands Norway Oman Pakistan Palau Palestinian Territory, Occupied Panama Papua New Guinea Paraguay Peru Philippines Pitcairn Poland Portugal Puerto Rico Qatar Reunion Romania Russian Federation Rwanda Saint Barthelemy Saint Helena Saint Kitts And Nevis Saint Lucia Saint Martin Saint Pierre And Miquelon Saint Vincent And Grenadines Samoa San Marino Sao Tome And Principe Saudi Arabia Senegal Serbia Seychelles Sierra Leone Singapore Sint Maarten (Dutch part) Slovakia Slovenia Solomon Islands Somalia South Africa South Georgia And Sandwich Isl. South Sudan Spain Sri Lanka Sudan Suriname Svalbard And Jan Mayen Swaziland Sweden Switzerland Syrian Arab Republic Taiwan Tajikistan Tanzania Thailand Timor-Leste Togo Tokelau Tonga Trinidad And Tobago Tunisia Turkey Turkmenistan Turks And Caicos Islands Tuvalu Uganda Ukraine United Arab Emirates United States Outlying Islands Uruguay Uzbekistan Vanuatu Venezuela Viet Nam Virgin Islands, British Virgin Islands, U.S. Wallis And Futuna Western Sahara Yemen Zambia Zimbabwe Add to Cart

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• Janet Broughton

Paperback

Price: $47.00/£40.00 ISBN: 9780691117324 Published: Oct 26, 2003 Copyright: 2002 Pages: 240 Size: 6 x 9.25 in.

ebook (EPUB via app)

Price: $47.00/£40.00 ISBN: 9780691117324 Published: Oct 26, 2003 Copyright: 2002 Pages: 240 Size: 6 x 9.25 in.

ebook (PDF via app)

Price: $47.00/£40.00 ISBN: 9780691117324 Published: Oct 26, 2003 Copyright: 2002 Pages: 240 Size: 6 x 9.25 in. Add to Cart

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Descartes thought that we could achieve absolute certainty by starting with radical doubt. He adopts this strategy in the Meditations on First Philosophy, where he raises sweeping doubts with the famous dream argument and the hypothesis of an evil demon. But why did Descartes think we should take these exaggerated doubts seriously? And if we do take them seriously, how did he think any of our beliefs could ever escape them? Janet Broughton undertakes a close study of Descartes’s first three meditations to answer these questions and to present a fresh way of understanding precisely what Descartes was up to. Broughton first contrasts Descartes’s doubts with those of the ancient skeptics, arguing that Cartesian doubt has a novel structure and a distinctive relation to the commonsense outlook of everyday life. She then argues that Descartes pursues absolute certainty by uncovering the conditions that make his radical doubt possible. She gives a unified account of how Descartes uses this strategy, first to find certainty about his own existence and then to argue that God exists. Drawing on this analysis, Broughton provides a new way to understand Descartes’s insistence that he hasn’t argued in a circle, and she measures his ambitions against those of contemporary philosophers who use transcendental arguments in their efforts to defeat skepticism. The book is a powerful contribution both to the history of philosophy and to current debates in epistemology.

Janet Broughton is Professor of Philosophy at the University of California, Berkeley.

"This is a brilliant book, written in a flowing and elegant prose that belies the extraordinary erudition, and philosophical rigor and subtlety which it contains."—Jorge Secada, Philosophical Quarterly

"In this clearly written and engaging book, Broughton argues that the method of doubt is in fact constructive, a strategy for uncovering the first principles of philosophy by showing that the truth of certain beliefs is a condition for the method of doubt."—Deborah Boyle, Philosophy in Review

"Simply put, this is a superb book. It provides a deep, learned, and philosophically engaging reading of the method of doubt as laid out in the first three meditations.... Exemplary in its capacity to seamlessly combine scholarly debate, history of ideas and original philosophising in a clear and lively prose style. The book will be an essential reference in future discussions of Descartes and his method of doubt."—David Macarthur, Philosophical Books

"Descartes's Method of Doubt offers a compelling new reading of what the method of doubt involves, and of the work that it does in the Meditations. . . . Broughton's book must count as a significant contribution to Cartesian studies and early modern philosophy, and it is surely one that will be accorded close attention by scholars in the field. . . . [I]t is clearly and elegantly written. . . . incisive, insightful and illuminating."—Cecilia Wee, British Journal for the History of Philosophy

"This stunning work is without question a major contribution to Cartesian studies, to the field of early modern philosophy, and to general epistemology—original, provocative, and philosophically interesting. The writing is everywhere precise and elegant, but straightforward and conversational at the same time. It is a brilliant piece of philosophy, a masterful work of scholarship, and an engaging read—a trio not often encountered."—Edwin McCann, University of Southern California

"Broughton presents an impressive rethinking of how knowledge, certainty, and doubt figure in Descartes's Meditations. The project is deeply thought out and extremely engaging. In many places the insights are simply startling. Perhaps her most important achievement lies in how well she manages to realize the ambition of many working in the history of philosophy to remain in dialogue with contemporary philosophy."—John Carriero, University of California, Los Angeles

"Given the extent and quality of the scholarly work that precedes it, Broughton's fresh, illuminating, and persuasive reading of Descartes's Meditations is a remarkable achievement."—Robert Fogelin, Dartmouth University

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