
Descartes's Secret Notebook
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But Descartes had a mysterious and mystical side, as well. Almost certainly a member of the occult brotherhood of the Rosicrucians, he kept a secret notebook, now lost, most of which was written in code. After Descartes's death, Gottfried Leibniz, inventor of calculus and one of the greatest mathematicians of all time, moved to Paris in search of this notebook-and eventually found it in the possession of Claude Clerselier, a friend of Descartes's. Liebniz called on Clerselier and was allowed to copy only a couple of pages-which, though written in code, he amazingly deciphered there on the spot. Liebniz's hastily scribbled notes are all we have today of Descartes's notebook.
Why did Descartes keep a secret notebook, and what were its contents? The answers to these questions will lead the reader on an exciting, swashbuckling journey, and offer a fascinating look at one of the great figures of Western culture.
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Content
- Intro
- Other Books By This Author
- Title Page
- Dedication
- Acknowledgments
- Contents
- Introduction
- Prologue: Leibniz's Search in Paris
- Chapter 1 - The Gardens of Touraine
- Chapter 2 - Jesuit Mathematics and the Pleasures of the Capital
- Chapter 3 - The Dutch Puzzle
- Chapter 4 - Three Dreams in an Oven by the Danube
- Chapter 5 - The Athenians Are Vexed by a Persistent Ancient Plague
- Chapter 6 - The Meeting with Faulhaber and the Battle of Prague
- Chapter 7 - The Brotherhood
- Chapter 8 - Swords at Sea and a Meeting in the Marais
- Chapter 9 - Descartes and the Rosicrucians
- Chapter 10 - Italian Creations
- Chapter 11 - A Duel at Orléans, and the Siege of La Rochelle
- Chapter 12 - The Move to Holland and the Ghost of Galileo
- Chapter 13 - A Secret Affair
- Chapter 14 - Descartes' Philosophy and the Discourse on the Method
- Chapter 15 - Descartes Understands the Ancient Delian Mystery
- Chapter 16 - Princess Elizabeth
- Chapter 17 - The Intrigues of Utrecht
- Chapter 18 - The Call of the Queen
- Chapter 19 - The Mysterious Death of Descartes
- Chapter 20 - Leibniz's Quest for Descartes' Secret
- Chapter 21 - Leibniz Breaks Descartes' Code and Solves the Mystery
- Epilogue - A Twenty-First-Century Epilogue
- Notes
- Bibliography
- About the Author
- Copyright
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