Awards
- Winner of MLA Aldo and Jeanne Scaglione Prize for French and Francophone Studies 2013 (United States)
Overview
What influence did Ren 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.
Full Product Details
Author: Christopher Braider
Publisher: University of Toronto Press
Imprint: University of Toronto Press
Dimensions:
Width: 16.00cm
, Height: 2.90cm
, Length: 23.60cm
Weight: 0.680kg
ISBN: 9781442643482
ISBN 10: 144264348
Pages: 296
Publication Date: 14 January 2012
Audience:
Professional and scholarly
,
College/higher education
,
Professional & Vocational
,
Postgraduate, Research & Scholarly
Format: Hardback
Publisher's Status: Active
Availability: Temporarily unavailable
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Reviews
'This book is a thought provoking contribution to early modern French studies.' -- Paul Scott French Review vol 88:02:2014 '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
'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
'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
Author Information
Christopher Braider is a professor of French and Comparative Literature at the University of Colorado, Boulder.
