Rationalism · 1596–1650
René Descartes
Dare to begin thinking again.
France · Dutch Republic · Sweden
Reading guides
A thread to guide your reading.
Original introductions to enter the works, discover their central questions and take the reflection further.
Learning to guide your reason
Begin with Parts II and III of the Discourse: how to inquire methodically without waiting to know everything before living.
Discourse on the MethodMoving through doubt
Follow the first two Meditations, then place the cogito within the movement of the complete six-meditation work.
Meditations on First Philosophy, Objections and RepliesUnderstanding what moves us
Read the passions as a question of embodied life, distinguishing the text’s philosophical interest from its historical physiology.
The Passions of the Soul