In this Book
- Demons, Dreamers, and Madmen: The Defense of Reason in Descartes's Meditations
- Book
- 2009
- Published by: Princeton University Press
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From the author of the #1 New York Times bestseller On Bullshit, a landmark account of Descartes, reason, and truth
In this classic work, philosopher and bestselling author Harry Frankfurt provides a compelling analysis of the question that not only lies at the heart of Descartes's Meditations, but also constitutes the central preoccupation of modern philosophy: on what basis can reason claim to provide any justification for the truth of our beliefs? Demons, Dreamers, and Madmen provides an ingenious account of Descartes's defense of reason against his own famously skeptical doubts that he might be a madman, dreaming, or, worse yet, deceived by an evil demon into believing falsely.
Frankfurt's masterful and imaginative reading of Descartes's seminal work not only stands the test of time; one imagines Descartes himself nodding in agreement.
Table of Contents
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- Title Page, Copyright
- pp. i-iv
- Preface to the Princeton Edition
- pp. xiii-xvi
- One: THE FIRST MEDITATION
- 1. Introduction
- pp. 3-18
- 2. The General Overthrow of Belief
- pp. 19-31
- 3. The Criterion of Doubt
- pp. 32-42
- 6. Simple and Universal Things
- pp. 75-83
- 9. Demons, Dreamers, and Madmen
- pp. 108-119
- Two: REASON AND ITS VALIDATION
- 11. Sum res cogitans
- pp. 154-174
- 12. Clear and Distinct Perception
- pp. 175-199
- 14. Memory and Doubt
- pp. 215-234
- 15. The Validation of Reason
- pp. 235-249
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