Book contents
- Frontmatter
- Contents
- Preface and Acknowledgments
- Note on Texts and References
- Descartes Family Tree
- Introduction
- 1 A Lawyer's Education
- 2 In Search of a Career (1616–1622)
- 3 Magic, Mathematics, and Mechanics: Paris, 1622–1628
- 4 A Fabulous World (1629–1633)
- 5 The Scientific Essays and the Discourse on Method (1633–1637)
- 6 Retreat and Defence (1637–1639)
- 7 Metaphysics in a Hornet's Nest (1639–1642)
- 8 The French Liar's Monkey and the Utrecht Crisis
- 9 Descartes and Princess Elizabeth
- 10 The Principles of Philosophy (1644)
- 11 The Quarrel and Final Rift with Regius
- 12 Once More into Battle: The Leiden Theologians (1647)
- 13 Thoughts of Retirement
- 14 Death in Sweden
- Appendix 1 Descartes' Principal Works
- Appendix 2 Places Where Descartes Lived
- Notes
- Bibliography
- Index
11 - The Quarrel and Final Rift with Regius
Published online by Cambridge University Press: 18 July 2009
- Frontmatter
- Contents
- Preface and Acknowledgments
- Note on Texts and References
- Descartes Family Tree
- Introduction
- 1 A Lawyer's Education
- 2 In Search of a Career (1616–1622)
- 3 Magic, Mathematics, and Mechanics: Paris, 1622–1628
- 4 A Fabulous World (1629–1633)
- 5 The Scientific Essays and the Discourse on Method (1633–1637)
- 6 Retreat and Defence (1637–1639)
- 7 Metaphysics in a Hornet's Nest (1639–1642)
- 8 The French Liar's Monkey and the Utrecht Crisis
- 9 Descartes and Princess Elizabeth
- 10 The Principles of Philosophy (1644)
- 11 The Quarrel and Final Rift with Regius
- 12 Once More into Battle: The Leiden Theologians (1647)
- 13 Thoughts of Retirement
- 14 Death in Sweden
- Appendix 1 Descartes' Principal Works
- Appendix 2 Places Where Descartes Lived
- Notes
- Bibliography
- Index
Summary
The book by Mr. Regius does not contain a word about Metaphysics that is not exactly the opposite of my views.
The two years immediately following his visit to France – 1645 and 1646 – were a transitional period in Descartes' life in many senses of that term. In Paris he had met a number of potentially supportive scholars, and he had begun almost immediately to cultivate their friendship. However, once returned to the north of Holland, he seemed to lapse into a general malaise. He heard on 25 November 1644 that his friend Bannius had died during his absence. During the following months he wrote relatively little; he tried with limited success to complete the missing parts of the Principles; and he completely sundered his friendship with one of his most loyal and committed followers, Regius. There was some compensation for this intellectual stagnation in the preparation of French translations of his two Latin books, the Meditations and the Principles, although the work involved in translating them was done by others. Midway through this period he also began to work on a completely new project – which he called the passions of the soul – partly at the request of Princess Elizabeth and partly in response to queries from Chanut. Even here, however, his tentative explorations were qualified by a lack of interest in publishing the results.
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- Information
- Descartes: A Biography , pp. 307 - 336Publisher: Cambridge University PressPrint publication year: 2006