
The Matter of Mind
Reason and Experience in the Age of Descartes
Christopher Braider(Author)
University of Toronto Press
Published on 14. January 2012
Book
Hardback
296 pages
978-1-4426-4348-2 (ISBN)
Description
What influence did Rene Descartes' concept of mind-body dualism have on early modern conceptions of the self? In The Matter of Mind, Christopher Braider challenges the presumed centrality of Descartes' groundbreaking theory to seventeenth-century French culture. He details the broad opposition to rational self-government among Descartes' contemporaries, and attributes conventional links between Descartes and the myth of the 'modern subject' to post-structuralist assessments.
The Matter of Mind presents studies drawn from a range of disciplines and examines the paintings of Nicolas Poussin, the drama of Pierre Corneille, and the theology of Blaise Pascal. Braider argues that if early modern thought converged on a single model, then it was the experimental picture based on everyday experience proposed by Descartes' sceptical adversary, Michel de Montaigne. Forceful and provocative, The Matter of Mind will encourage lively debate on the norms and discourses of seventeenth-century philosophy.
The Matter of Mind presents studies drawn from a range of disciplines and examines the paintings of Nicolas Poussin, the drama of Pierre Corneille, and the theology of Blaise Pascal. Braider argues that if early modern thought converged on a single model, then it was the experimental picture based on everyday experience proposed by Descartes' sceptical adversary, Michel de Montaigne. Forceful and provocative, The Matter of Mind will encourage lively debate on the norms and discourses of seventeenth-century philosophy.
Reviews / Votes
'All of them [readers] will most likely be impressed with the intellectual range and critical acumen displayed by Braider throughout this highly stimulating study.' - Edward Ousselin (French Studies, vol 66:04:2012) 'This book is a thought provoking contribution to early modern French studies.'- Paul Scott (French Review vol 88:02:2014)
More details
Language
English
Place of publication
Toronto
Canada
Target group
Professional and scholarly
College/higher education
Product notice
sewn/stitched
Cloth over boards
With dust jacket
Illustrations
18 b&w illustrations
Dimensions
Height: 231 mm
Width: 157 mm
Thickness: 28 mm
Weight
671 gr
ISBN-13
978-1-4426-4348-2 (9781442643482)
Copyright in bibliographic data and cover images is held by Nielsen Book Services Limited or by the publishers or by their respective licensors: all rights reserved.
Schweitzer Classification
Other editions
Additional editions

E-Book
12/2012
1st Edition
University of Toronto Press
€73.95
Available for download
Person
Christopher Braider is a professor of French and Comparative Literature at the University of Colorado, Boulder.
Content
Introduction. Experience and the Matter of Mind: Dualism, Classicism, and the Myth of the Modern Subject in Seventeenth-Century France
Front Matter: Placing Descarte's Meditations
A State of Mind: Embodying the Sovereign in Poussin's Judgment of Solomon
The Witch from Colchis: Coreneille's MedEe, Chimene's Le Cid, and the Invention of Classical Genius
Seeing is Believing: Image and Imaginaire in Moliere's Sganarelle
The Ghost in the Machine: Reason, Faith, and Experience in Pascalian Apologetics
Des mots sans fin: Meaning and the End(s) of History in Boileau's Satire XII, "Sur l'Equivoque"
Front Matter: Placing Descarte's Meditations
A State of Mind: Embodying the Sovereign in Poussin's Judgment of Solomon
The Witch from Colchis: Coreneille's MedEe, Chimene's Le Cid, and the Invention of Classical Genius
Seeing is Believing: Image and Imaginaire in Moliere's Sganarelle
The Ghost in the Machine: Reason, Faith, and Experience in Pascalian Apologetics
Des mots sans fin: Meaning and the End(s) of History in Boileau's Satire XII, "Sur l'Equivoque"