The Cambridge Companion to Descartes (review)

3o4 JOURNAL OF THE HISTORY OF PHILOSOPHY 32:2 APRIL 199 4 done and [my italics] a is derivable by reason alone as conducive to self-preservation" (73)- Each of these conditions is necessary but neither by itself is sufficient for an action to be moral, according to Martinich's version of Hobbes's theory. Perhaps the book's most striking thesis is Martinich's assertion that Lev/athan should be regarded as a "Bible for modern man" (45). In developing this thesis, he goes beyond simply interpreting Hobbes's intentions and instead defends the rafonality of the Hobbesian project, understood as an attempt to synthesize Calvinist beliefs with a materialist modern science. The ambitious scope of such a synthesis is evident in the equally detailed treatment Martinich offers, both when discussing better-known topics like self-interest and the state of nature and when elucidating the lesser-known doctrines concerning everything from angels to eschatology in Parts III and IV of Lev/athan. How effective is this study in realizing the goals it sets for itself?. As an interpretation of Hobbes's views on religion, politics, and--to a lesser extent--science, it makes a plausible proposal for how to integrate these views into a single system. If Hobbes's writings were intended by him to constitute a fully coherent whole, then readers will find Martinich's interpretive suggestions to be very instructive. If, however, the relevant Hobbesian texts can be shown to fall short of full coherence, then his interpretation will be less helpful. Of course Martinich himself does not shy away from pointing out contradictions in a number of Hobbesian positions, including the account of the sovereign-making covenant. But what seems missing in this book is an explanation of how Hobbes's more notable inconsistencies ought to be reconciled with the claim that he intended to articulate a single, coherent Christian materialist worldview. Could it have been the case that such a worldview was impossible coherently to define? Certainly Hobbes, in defending the truth of his assertions, valued most highly the internal consistency of his version of this worldview. Is it possible that Hobbes's version is not coherent enough to be defended? What would its possible failure tell us about the advisability in general of defending Christian materialism? Perhaps, in a future work, Martinich will develop the interesting project he has begun here by addressing these unanswered questions. LYNN S. JoY Universityof Notre Dame John Cottingham, editor. The CambridgeCompanionto Descartes. New York: Cambridge University Press, a992. Pp. xii + 44 I. Cloth, $49.95- Paper, $17.95. John Cottingham's The CambridgeCompanion toDescartesaims to be a collection of essays that makes Descartes accessible to students and nonspecialists and that can serve as a reference work. The collection is quite successful in reaching this goal. The essays are generally very readable and cover a wide array of issues in Descartes's writings. In addition, the type of scholarship manifested in these papers varies widely. They range from papers that focus with great intensity on philosophical details of issues in Des- BOOK REVIEWS 305 cartes's writings to ones that are devoted to matters of historical context. In addition, the essays have a good deal to offer for specialists. Recent trends in Descartes scholarship are represented by contributions that aim to place his writings in historical context. The volume does so more than any other collection of essays on Descartes in English, and this is one of its strengths. It begins with a biographical essay by Genevi,~ve Rodis-Lewis that is very rich in detail. Her repeated criticisms of the seventeenth-century biography of Descartes by Adrien Baillet bring out the difficulties of Descartes biography. Roger Ariew contributes a fascinating essay on the subtleties of Descartes's relations with the scholastics. The book closes with a very informative discussion of the reception of Descartes's thought by NicholasJolley. Several of the other contributions analyze Descartes's ideas while relating them to those of his contemporaries and predecessors. Examples are the essays by Garber, Hatfield, Clarke, and, to some extent, Cottingham. Some of the papers in the volume concern issues that have generally been of interest to readers...