34 results
Chapter 9 - Spinoza on Aristocratic and Democratic Government
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- By Theo Verbeek
- Edited by Yitzhak Y. Melamed, The Johns Hopkins University, Hasana Sharp, McGill University, Montréal
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- Spinoza's <I>Political Treatise</I>
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- 19 July 2018
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- 02 August 2018, pp 145-160
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This chapter calls for special attention to the neglected chapters of the Political Treatise on aristocracy. It demonstrates the novelty of Spinoza’s claims about aristocracy, which contain an implicit critique of his own country. It maintains that Spinoza’s celebrated preference for democracy is less a spirited defense of egalitarian principles than a resignation to the impossibility of sustaining the best government in principle: aristocracy. Verbeek argues that the events of 1672 depleted Spinoza’s hope of modeling politics on the rational morality he advances in the Ethics. His advocacy of democracy, then, signals the loss of faith in the self-correcting mechanisms of reason, and the inevitability of the instability democracy promises
Experiment
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- By Theo Verbeek, Universiteit Utrecht
- Edited by Lawrence Nolan, California State University, Long Beach
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- The Cambridge Descartes Lexicon
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- 05 January 2016
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- 01 January 2015, pp 262-265
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Descartes is not usually associated with an empirical, let alone experimental, approach to science. According to the textbook version of Descartes’ philosophy, the fundamental principles of Cartesian physics are established independently of all experience; all one has to do would be to identify them through a process of systematic doubt and to justify them with an appeal to divine veracity. Although this idea of Cartesian science is not entirely false, there is considerable room for qualification. Moreover, Descartes’ correspondence shows that, despite a deep distrust in the observations and experiments of others, Descartes rarely rejects them as being irrelevant, usually asks to be informed of the precise circumstances, and quite often suggests new experiments of his own. The bottom line, however, is that for him no observation or experiment can ever be useful without a correct general theory; without it, experiments are mere “curiosity,” which, being a kind of wonder, is of little use in science (AT X 371, CSM I 16) and even “perverts the use of reason” (AT XI 385–86, CSM I 355–56).
The Discourse is one of the few places where Descartes explicitly discusses experiments and affirms their necessity. Descartes situates himself in a distinctly Baconian perspective, emphasizing both the practical and, in a limited way, the collective aspects of science. He also admits the necessity of experiments but is eager to point out their limitations. Observations and experiments are necessary “the more we advance in our knowledge” but not when we begin: “If we begin, instead of seeking those [observations] which are more unusual and rather contrived it is better to take those only into account which, presenting themselves spontaneously to our senses, cannot remain unknown after a little reflection” (AT VI 63, CSM I 143). Unusual observations (which includes experiments) would be misleading if we did not know the explanation of the more general ones.
As a result, Cartesian natural philosophy, or physics, consists of two levels: one dealing with the most general features of nature and based on ordinary experience, and the other dealing with particular effects. The first level, general physics, in turn, can be divided into two parts: the derivation of “the principles or first causes of everything” from “seeds of truth that are naturally in our souls”; and an examination of the “first and most ordinary effects that can be deduced from those causes” (AT VI 64, CSM I 144).
Buitendyck (dates unknown)
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- By Theo Verbeek, Universiteit Utrecht
- Edited by Lawrence Nolan, California State University, Long Beach
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- The Cambridge Descartes Lexicon
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- 05 January 2016
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- 01 January 2015, pp 80-81
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In his edition of Descartes’ correspondence, Clerselier identifies the addressee of a letter mainly on the Meditations (AT IV 62–65, CSMK 229–30) as a “Mr Buitendyck.” According to Adam and Tannery (AT), this should be Gosuinus (Van) Buitendyck (ca.1585–1661), a minister and curator of the Latin School at Dordrecht. However, in the first, albeit partial, publication of the letter by Tobias Andreae (1604–76), the addressee is qualified as iuvenis ornatissimus – a title given to students. So the addressee of Descartes’ letter should be someone who was student between 1642 and 1650. This rules out Gosuinus. The most serious candidate is Petrus Buitendyck who, on February 6, 1644, at nineteen years old, enrolled as a student of theology at Leiden. He is probably the same Petrus Buitendyck who again enrolled as a theology student at Leiden on November 27, 1645, at twenty years old – this time described as being from Dordrecht and the son of Gosuinus, the minister. The same Petrus presumably pops up again as a student of theology at Franeker in 1647. A less likely candidate is Samuel à Buittendich from Dordrecht, who on June 21, 1647, at the age of twenty, enrolled at Leiden and is probably Petrus's younger brother – less likely because his reference would be the Principles (1644) rather than the Meditations (1641–42). However, there is no absolute certainty.
Little is known about Petrus's later career, except that in 1658 he became minister in Nieuw-Beijerland (a small village in South-Holland). Descartes’ letter, which, if the addressee is Petrus, should be dated 1644 or later, provides an answer to three questions: whether it is allowed to doubt the existence of God, whether it is evil to suppose something false with respect to God, and whether the soul of animals consists in motion. In his answer, Descartes makes a few restrictions that are not found elsewhere. It is permitted to doubt the existence of God, that is, not to be certain of it, as long as this “doubt” is purely intellectual. And, of course, we must not suppose anything false about God, but an evil genius (which is the real object of the question) is not the true God but an idol. Instead of identifying the animal soul with motion, Descartes would rather side with scripture (Deut 12:23) and say that it resides in the animals’ blood.
See also Animal, Doubt, Existence, God
Huygens, Christiaan (1629–1695)
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- By Theo Verbeek, Universiteit Utrecht
- Edited by Lawrence Nolan, California State University, Long Beach
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- The Cambridge Descartes Lexicon
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- 05 January 2016
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- 01 January 2015, pp 379-380
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Apparently destined for a similar career as his father and brothers, Constantijn Huygens's second son, Christiaan, was sent to Leiden to study law. Actually, he spent most of his time studying mathematics with Frans Van Schooten (1615–60), the Latin translator of Descartes’ Geometry and one of the few who could understand it, in preparation of his first work, on the quadrature of the hyperbole and the ellipse (1651). With a powerful self-built telescope, he discovered in 1655 the first moon of Saturn (Titan) and made numerous other observations, which firmly established his reputation as an astronomer. Of great practical importance was his invention of the pendulum clock (patented in 1657). He was invited to become one of the founding members of the Académie des Sciences (1666) and until 1681 settled in Paris, returning several times to The Hague, though, for reasons of health. In Paris he became increasingly critical of Descartes’ physics, more particularly of his laws of collision (see law of nature). In 1689 he made a last journey to London, where he met Sir Isaac Newton. Although he admired Newton's mathematical genius, he remained skeptical of his “improbable principle of attraction” as well as his corpuscular theory of light. He died in 1695, his last years being devoted, among other things, to the problem of extraterrestrial life (published posthumously as Cosmotheoros, 1698). In his Traité de la lumière (1690), he provided a synthesis of his theory of light. Huygens was undoubtedly one of the greatest among the physicists, astronomers, and mathematicians of his age, bringing to Cartesian physics a mathematical as well as a practical and empirical mind, which allowed him to show the limits of the Cartesian method, unwillingly perhaps for in his heart he preferred a purely mechanical model.
See also Huygens, Constantijn; Laws of Nature; Light; Newton, Isaac; Physics
Brégy, Nicolas Léonor Flesselles de (ca.1615–1689)
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- By Theo Verbeek, Universiteit Utrecht
- Edited by Lawrence Nolan, California State University, Long Beach
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Brégy was born the eldest son of a president of the chambre des comptes. In 1637 he became councilor in the Parlement of Paris and in 1644 conseiller du roi. In 1645 he was sent on missions to Poland and Sweden, where Queen Christina appointed him capitaine des gardes. In March 1649, he was to join a French embassy to Constantinople, but he returned to France (December 1649), took service in the army, and eventually became lieutenant general (1655). Nothing is known about his later years except that he died November 22, 1689. His wife Charlotte de Chazans (1619–93) was known as a poetess. During the short period that Descartes and Brégy were together in Sweden they became friends (AT V 454–55). Descartes wrote Brégy after the latter left Sweden (AT V 455–57). To prevent his letter from being lost in the mail, he included a ballet to be performed the next evening. This has led some to believe that Descartes wrote a ballet. However, the ballet actually performed in Stockholm on December 9, 1649, was a German translation (by Freinsheim) of a French original by Hélie Poirier: Die Uberwundene Liebe (Love defeated). On January 15, 1650, Descartes wrote again, complaining that during the Swedish winter “human thoughts freeze as easily as water,” and announcing that he will not wait for Brégy's return (expected in March) to go back (AT V 467, CSMK 383).
See also Christina, Queen of Sweden
Burman, Frans (Franciscus) (1628–1679)
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- By Theo Verbeek, Universiteit Utrecht
- Edited by Lawrence Nolan, California State University, Long Beach
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- The Cambridge Descartes Lexicon
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- 05 January 2016
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Although there is no absolute certainty about the identity of the interviewer in the so-called Conversation with Burman, it was probably Frans Burman, who enrolled at Leiden University in 1643 to study theology. In 1650 he became minister of the Dutch Church at Hanau (Germany); in 1661, deputy dean of the Leiden Statencollege (a theological college for bursars of the States of Holland); and in 1662, professor of theology at Utrecht University. In theology, Burman was a follower of Johannes Coccejus (1603–69), one of the fathers of Covenant theology. This is basically a theology of history (with eschatological overtones) rather than a dogmatic, and philosophically articulated, system. As a result, it proved to be more compatible with Cartesianism, also because it allowed a clear demarcation between philosophical and theological spheres (see Calvinism). Burman was among the first to give it a more systematic form. This alone would have been enough to involve him in a controversy with the Voetians (see Voetius, Gysbertus); the fact that he was also known as being sympathetic with Cartesian philosophy made it definitely worse. The controversy focused on two points: the sanctification of the Sabbath (on which the Coccejans were rather relaxed) and the nature of the human mind, more particularly the question whether children in the womb can think and therefore have sinful thoughts – according to Burman's adversaries this would be the logical consequence of his Cartesianism, but it would contradict the Gospel, which speaks of “children not yet born, neither having done any good or evil” (Rom 9:11). Although he had never made such a claim, Burman admitted the possibility and managed to find an alternative interpretation of that text.
Burman's interest in philosophy presumably explains why, as a young student, he was introduced to Descartes, possibly by his professor of theology and future father-in-law Abraham Heidanus (1597–1678), who was a friend of Descartes. In any case, on April 16, 1648, he traveled to Egmond and interviewed Descartes on various questions. It is not known whether other people were present as well or whether this was the first (or the only) time Descartes and Burman met. The text, copied by Johannes Clauberg a few days later (April 20) in Amsterdam, shows that Burman had made a close study of Descartes’ works.
Chanut, Hector-Pierre (1601–1662)
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- By Theo Verbeek, Universiteit Utrecht
- Edited by Lawrence Nolan, California State University, Long Beach
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- The Cambridge Descartes Lexicon
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- 05 January 2016
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- 01 January 2015, pp 103-104
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Born at Riom (Puy-de-Dôme), the son of a wealthy family of merchants, Pierre (as he is usually called) Chanut made a career in administration (tax and finance). Alongside his official duties he also worked with Marin Mersenne and Pierre Petit (1598–1677) on scientific questions, especially the barometric experiments. In the 1640s, he entered the foreign service and before long became one of France's top diplomats, more particularly in charge of the relations with Northern Europe. After traveling extensively in Sweden, Northern Germany, and the United Provinces, he returned definitively to France in 1655. Being a trusted client of Fouquet (1615–80), Chanut retired from the public service when the latter fell into disgrace (1661).
The first time Descartes mentions Chanut is in mid-March 1642 in connection with the objections of Pierre Bourdin (AT III 546). Meetings probably followed during Descartes’ journey to France in 1644 because in 1645 Descartes already refers to Chanut as “one of my best friends” (AT IV 300). They also met at Amsterdam, when Chanut's ship made a stop on its way to Sweden (Baillet 1691, II 279). It is through Chanut that Claude Clerselier entered the Cartesian orbit, Chanut being married (1626) to Clerselier's sister Marguerite. On arriving in Sweden, Chanut tried to interest Queen Christina in Descartes. His motives were primarily political, Descartes being an asset in his attempts to consolidate the relations with Sweden after the Thirty Years’ War (1618–48) would be over. Chanut showed some of Descartes’ letters to her (AT V 59), and by December 1646 another senior diplomat had already visited Descartes to sound him on a formal invitation (AT IV 535–36, CSMK 298–99). Although initially Descartes’ reaction had been hesitant, he yielded after Chanut, on behalf of Queen Christina, asked his opinion on the sovereign good in the autumn of 1647 (AT V 81–86, CSMK 324–26). Descartes was formally invited in February 1649; he left the United Provinces in the autumn of 1649 and arrived in Sweden in September.
Vorstius, Adolph (1597–1663)
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- By Theo Verbeek, Universiteit Utrecht
- Edited by Lawrence Nolan, California State University, Long Beach
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- The Cambridge Descartes Lexicon
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- 01 January 2015, pp 756-756
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Born in 1597, the son of a Leiden professor of medicine, Vorstius (Voorst) studied humanities at Leiden University before embarking on a European tour ending in Padua, where he obtained a degree in medicine. In 1625 he succeeded his father as professor of medicine and director of the botanical garden at Leiden. In that capacity he published catalogs of the plants growing in the botanical garden (1633) as well as an edition of the Aphorisms of Hippocrates (1628). Never a very active scholar, he was often reprimanded by the university administration for neglecting his classes. No more than one letter of Descartes to Vorstius survives. It contains a full exposé of Descartes’ theory of animal spirits (June 19, 1643; AT III 686–89). There must have been personal meetings as well; in a letter to De Wilhem, Descartes refers to a dinner party he attended at Vorstius's house (May 24, 1647; AT V 33). Moreover, Descartes’ letter shows that Vorstius also took the former's defense, probably in the assembly of Leiden professors. Vorstius left hardly any writings, so it remains unknown whether he was sympathetic to Descartes’ medical and physiological ideas.
See also Animal Spirits, Medicine
Huygens, Constantijn (1596–1687)
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- By Theo Verbeek, Universiteit Utrecht
- Edited by Lawrence Nolan, California State University, Long Beach
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- The Cambridge Descartes Lexicon
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The second son of a high government official, Constantijn Huygens received an all-round education before studying law at Leiden. As a diplomat he made several journeys abroad before being appointed (1625) private secretary of the stadholder, Frederick-Henry of Orange (1584–1647). He continued in this position under his son, William II (1626–50) and remained attached to the Orange family as an adviser on political, financial, and artistic questions. Huygens was a highly cultured and extremely versatile diplomat, poet, playwright, musician, and composer who spoke many languages, wrote hundreds of poems (in Dutch, Latin, and French), and took a keen interest in applied science. Huygens became interested in Descartes’ work after attending a demonstration by Descartes of his Dioptrics at Golius's home in 1632. After a personal meeting in Amsterdam in 1635, contacts intensified, and the two started a correspondence. Huygens encouraged Descartes to publish a few specimens of his early work and not deprive the world of his insights. Although Huygens had his hopes set on The World, which Descartes withheld to avoid alienating the church, these efforts eventually resulted in the publication of the Discourse on Method and accompanying essays (1637). He also supported Descartes in his efforts to realize the machine for grinding hyperbolic lenses described in the Dioptrics (AT VI 211–27) and commissioned a work on mechanics (Explication des engins, 1638). When he was not with the army, he dispatched Descartes’ mail safely and quickly via the Dutch embassy in Paris; he used his influence during Descartes’ conflicts with the Utrecht and Leiden universities; and on his behalf he mobilized his wide network. Although Descartes gratefully accepted all that, he politely but resolutely resisted Huygens's covert suggestions to become his official patron. That role would befall Princess Elisabeth and Queen Christina, two women clearly of a much higher social rank. In the eyes of Descartes, a nobleman, Huygens remained, much to the latter's frustration, a commoner after all.
See also Christina, Queen of Sweden; Discourse on Method; Dioptrics; Elisabeth, Princess of Bohemia; Huygens, Christiaan
Colvius, Andreas (1594–1671)
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- By Theo Verbeek, Universiteit Utrecht
- Edited by Lawrence Nolan, California State University, Long Beach
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- The Cambridge Descartes Lexicon
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Andreas Colvius, the son of Nicolaas Kolff and Maria Van Slingelandt, was born in Dordrecht. He went to Leiden for theological studies (1612) and then continued his studies abroad elsewhere, including at Geneva (1618). Back in Dordrecht (1619) he became minister in the neighboring village of Rijsoord, where he remained until 1622. In that year he accompanied the first Dutch ambassador to Venice, Johan Berck (1565–1627), as chaplain. He used this Venetian period to meet Italian scholars, like Paolo Sarpi (1552–1623), whose History of the Inquisition he translated, and to collect and copy books and manuscripts, like Galileo's Del flusso e riflusso del mare (then as yet unpublished). He returned in 1627 and in 1628 received a call as minister to the Dordrecht Église wallonne (the Francophone Reformed Church). He retired from the ministry in 1666 and died July 1, 1671, leaving a rich library and a huge collection of “curiosities.”
Colvius was known as a very learned man interested in philosophy, astronomy, and natural history. Descartes may have known him through Beeckman, who was one of his friends. In any case, Descartes’ first letter to Colvius was written in reaction to the announcement of Beeckman's death (June 14, 1637, AT I 379–80). In November 1640, Colvius drew Descartes’ attention to an Augustinian parallel to the cogito (presumably The City of God xi, 26) and in April 1643 sent to him some astronomical observations (see AT III 247–48, 646–47). Although Descartes’ Letter to Voetius filled Colvius with dismay in June 1643 (AT III 680–81), this did not lead to a break (AT IV 7–8, 717–18). Through his cousin Johan de Witt (1625–72), the famous statesman, Colvius offered Chanut copies of the letters he had received from Descartes but the offer was declined because, according to De Witt, Chanut was interested only in those letters Descartes himself had prepared for publication (see Thijssen-Schoute 1967).
See also Beeckman, Isaac; Chanut, Hector-Pierre; Cogito Ergo Sum; Correspondence
Calvinism
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- By Theo Verbeek, Universiteit Utrecht
- Edited by Lawrence Nolan, California State University, Long Beach
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- The Cambridge Descartes Lexicon
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Calvinism is the Protestant theological tradition that goes back to Jean Calvin (1509–64). Calvinism presents itself both as a more radical version of the theology of Martin Luther (1483–1546) and as a reaction to the “Radical Reformation” of the Anabaptists. In his theology, Calvin teaches the total depravity of man, unconditional predestination (man can do nothing to secure salvation), limited atonement (the work of redemption is meant for the elect only), irresistible grace, and perseverance of the saints (once saved, always saved). Against the Radical Reformation, Calvinism reintroduced a certain hierarchical structure and an emphasis on the “scientific” (philological, historical, and philosophical) aspects of theology. Although, therefore, human reason should be aware of its inherent limitations (a consequence of the Fall), it would play a legitimate role in the interpretation of scripture.
The relation that Calvinism bears to Descartes’ philosophy is complex. The first confrontation between Calvinist theology and Cartesian philosophy took place in the United Provinces barely twenty years after the Synod of Dordrecht (1619) made an end to the controversy between Remonstrants and Contra-Remonstrants. Remonstrants believed that, as far as predestination is concerned, the testimony of scripture was inconclusive, so it should be a free issue. Contra-Remonstrants (whose view the Synod proclaimed to be the orthodox view) found the question too important to be left undecided and believed that on the basis of scripture and with the help of philosophy and logic the conclusion that there is unconditional predestination was inevitable. As a result, orthodox theology came to depend on Scholasticism. Moreover, the second article of the Dutch Confession stipulates that, although the best way to know God is by reading scripture, God's power and will can to a certain extent be known from nature. Finally, even though in this view reason is a gift of God, one should not rely too much on it and always confront its results with the evidence of the senses and, in case of a conflict with biblical evidence, be content with what was called “learned ignorance.”
By openly rejecting the Scholastic tradition, by breaking with common sense through systematic doubt, and by emphasizing the power of reason over and against the senses, Cartesian philosophy constituted an immediate threat to Orthodox theology (see Voetius, Gysbertus).
Beverwijck, Johan Van (1594–1647)
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- By Theo Verbeek, Universiteit Utrecht
- Edited by Lawrence Nolan, California State University, Long Beach
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Born at Dordrecht, Van Beverwijck studied philosophy and medicine at Leiden (1611), then made a European tour, which he wrapped up with a graduation at Padua (1616). On returning to Dordrecht, he became town physician (in charge of the poor) and held several administrative offices. Van Beverwijck's work is mainly important for its contribution to popular medicine. His Schat der gesontheyt (Treasure of Health) and Schat der ongesontheyt (Treasure of Disease) are self-help manuals, for which he secured the collaboration of the poet Jacob Cats (1577–1660), who put Van Beverwijck's maxims into short rhymes. Other books take the form of an epistolary exchange, for example, on the question whether the end of life is fixed beforehand (so there is no point in fighting disease).
Van Beverwijck's contacts with Descartes in June 1643 (AT III 682) are part of a similar project: he wants Descartes’ explanation of the circulation of the blood for Epistolicae Quaestiones (1644). In his reply of July 5, 1643 (AT IV 3–6), Descartes marks his position with respect to William Harvey (1578–1657), more clearly than he had done in the Discourse on Method (AT VI 50–51, CSM I 136–37). He agrees with Harvey on the circulation of the blood but disagrees on the movement of the heart: whereas Harvey believes that the blood is pushed out by a contraction of the heart (systole), Descartes believes that the blood forces itself out by expanding under the influence of heat, that is, at the precise moment in which, according to Harvey, the ventricles relax (diastole) – which is also the view of modern medicine. Descartes’ main reason, however, to react positively to Van Beverwijck's request may have been that it provided him with an opportunity to publish his correspondence with Plempius (1601–71), Plempius's own publication of it (in Fundamenta medicinae 1638) being incomplete. There is no trace of a specifically Cartesian influence in Van Beverwijck's own work.
See also Harvey, William; Heart; Plempius, Vopiscus Fortunatus
Treatise on Man
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- By Theo Verbeek, Universiteit Utrecht, Erik-Jan Bos, École normale supérieure de Lyon
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The Traité de l'homme was first published in its original French by Clerselier (L'homme, 1664), after being published in a Latin translation by Florent Schuyl (1619–69) (De homine, 1662 and 1664). Apart from a short summary in the Passions of the Soul (art. 7–16) and the equally posthumous Description of the Human Body, this work is the main source of Descartes’ physiology. A “treatise on man” was planned by Descartes as early as 1629, as part of an explanation of “all natural phenomena, that is, all of physics” (AT I 70, CSMK 7), as indicated by the summary of the “treatise on light” in the Discourse on Method. According to that summary, the treatise would contain a discussion not only of celestial and terrestrial bodies but also of man “because he observes them” (AT VI 42, CSM I 132). Not only is the inclusion of “human nature” in accordance with the traditional conception of physics, but it also matches Descartes’ statement in 1645 that he started work on a “treatise on animals” (which is clearly what we now know as his Treatise on Man) “more than fifteen years ago” (AT IV 326).
Descartes’ approach raised the challenging problem of how to integrate a theory of man into his own theory of nature, given the fact that the human mind cannot be reduced to matter; and he could not speak of living bodies “in the same manner as the other things, that is, by demonstrating effects from causes and showing from what seeds and in what manner nature must produce them” (AT VI 45, CSM I 134). The first problem could be solved by giving the human mind an exceptional status; the second problem could be solved only by means of the “supposition” that “God formed the body of a man exactly like our own … using for its composition nothing but the matter that I had described,” without placing in it
any rational soul or any other thing to serve as a vegetative or sensitive soul, but rather that he kindled in its heart one of those fires without light which I had already explained, and whose nature I understood to be no different from that of the fire which heats hay when it has been stored before it is dry.
(AT VI 46, CSM I 134)
Comments on a Certain Broadsheet
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- By Theo Verbeek, Universiteit Utrecht
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Notae in Programma Quoddam is Descartes’ final word in his quarrel with Henricus Regius. Regius, who had earned his Utrecht professorship by giving private lessons in philosophy and theoretical medicine, thought of publishing a compendium of the new philosophy as early as 1641. At that point, Descartes, who obviously did not like that idea, could still dissuade him from doing so. In 1645, however, after Descartes had published the Principles of Philosophy (1644), Regius felt free to publish a book on physics. Descartes opposed that plan, in part because he did not agree with the views Regius expressed in his initial draft on the relation of mind and body, the nature of ideas, and the idea of God. Despite the fact that in the published version (Fundamenta physices [1646]), Regius made some alterations and in the preface declared that, although admiring Descartes and being inspired by him, he alone was responsible for the ideas expressed in the book, Descartes publicly dissociated from him in the preface to the French translation of the Principia (1647). He declared that, “as far as physics and medicine are concerned, it appears that everything [Regius] writes was taken from my writings.” However, because Regius “had copied inaccurately and changed the order and denied certain truths of metaphysics,” Descartes felt “obliged to disavow this work entirely” and “beg [his] readers never to attribute to [him] any opinion they do not find explicitly stated in [his] writings” (AT IXB 19–20, CSM I 189). In reaction to this one of Regius's students, Petrus Wassenaer (d. 1680), added twenty-one corollaries extracted from the Fundamenta Physices (ch. 12, “On Man”). These were to be publicly defended in October 1647 under the supervision of Regius. Moreover, in corollaries 2–3 and 14–15 he also restored the claims Regius had suppressed to humor Descartes concerning the relation between mind and body and the idea of God (AT IV 241–42; AT IV 248–50, CSMK 254–55). Two days before the public defense of Wassenaer's disputation, it was prohibited by the professors of Utrecht University, not only because twelve of the corollaries gave offense, but also because Wassenaer (whose family members were Remonstrants) dedicated his disputation to a Remonstrant preacher. After an unsuccessful protest, Wassenaer published his corollaries separately in December as a leaflet (Programma). Whether he acted entirely on his own or in collusion with Regius is unclear.
Pollot, Alphonse (ca.1602–1668)
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- By Theo Verbeek, Universiteit Utrecht
- Edited by Lawrence Nolan, California State University, Long Beach
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Pollot (Polotti, Palotti) was born at Dronero (Piedmont), the son of a Protestant family. After the death of his father, his mother moved to Geneva, and Alphonse and his brother were sent to the Low Countries to serve in the Dutch army. Although during the siege of 's-Hertogenbosch (Bois-le-Duc) in 1629 he lost his right arm, he continued his military career until 1642, when he became attached to the court of the stadholder, Frederick-Henry of Orange, and, after the latter's death, to that of his widow, Princess Amalia. About 1650, he returned to Geneva, where he died in 1668. Pollot wrote to Descartes briefly after the publication of the Discourse on Method (1637). Although Descartes did not reply, a personal meeting must have followed, mediated possibly by Henricus Reneri. Descartes was impressed by Pollot's mathematical expertise, believing that he was one of the few to understand his Geometry (AT I 518). Later Pollot served as an intermediary between Descartes and Princess Elisabeth and advised Descartes during his conflict with Voetius. Pollot is seen as the main author of a series of objections to Descartes’ Discourse–written in the form of a letter by a certain “S.P.” (AT I 512–17; for Descartes’ reply see AT II 34–46, CSMK 96–102). Planned by Descartes as a sequel to the Discourse and coming after the objections of others, they were probably prearranged so as to cover the entire spectrum of questions discussed in the Discourse. Thus, there are questions, for example, on the cogito (e.g., why not “I breath, therefore I am”?), the animal soul, and subtle matter. Although it is likely that they were authored by Pollot, others, like Reneri and possibly even Constantijn Huygens, may have contributed as well. Pollot's unpublished copy of the Treatise on Man was one of the sources of the first edition of that work in 1662.
See also Discourse on Method; Geometry; Elisabeth, Princess of Bohemia; Reneri, Henricus; Voetius, Gysbertus
The Stampioen Affair
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- By Theo Verbeek, Universiteit Utrecht
- Edited by Lawrence Nolan, California State University, Long Beach
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The so-called Stampioen Affair publicly involves only two mathematicians: Jacob Waessenaer, a Utrecht surveyor and cartographer, and owner of a school in applied mathematics, who died in 1688 (date of birth unknown), and Jan Stampioen, born in 1610 (he probably died in 1653 in a gunpowder explosion at Arras), who had a somewhat similar position at Rotterdam before being appointed in 1638 or 1639 as teacher of mathematics to Prince William of Orange (1626–50), the son of the stadholder – something which Descartes initially does not seem to have realized (see AT III 736–42). Waessenaer was an able mathematician (according to John Pell [1611–85] one of the best in the United Provinces), who perfectly understood Descartes’ Geometry (see AT III 735–36). Stampioen seems to have been an excellent teacher and made innovative proposals in the field of mathematical notation (Cajori 1974). In 1633 Stampioen proposed a mathematical problem to Descartes, probably at the instigation of Isaac Beeckman. In his answer, Descartes feigns to be an amateur in mathematics but meanwhile solves Stampioen's problem and challenges him to solve the problem of Pappus (AT I 275–79). But although Descartes clearly is pulling Stampioen's leg, there is no animosity. It is not clear why Descartes became involved in what seems to have started as a quarrel between two rival mathematicians. The only intellectual motive one can think of is that in 1639 Stampioen published what he self-importantly called a “new algebra” (Stampioen 1639), which Descartes clearly found bogus. Nor do we know who took the initiative: Waessenaer who sought support against Stampioen, or Descartes himself who either wanted to expose Stampioen as a charlatan or tried to promote the cause of someone interested in his Geometry. Descartes’ first letter to Waessenaer (and the only one known) dates from February 1640 (AT III 21–28), but he must have been involved earlier (see AT III 6). Waessenaer may even be the Utrecht mathematician referred to in a letter to Mersenne of March 31, 1638 (AT II 99).
In 1638 Stampioen published two problems under the assumed name of Joannes Baptista Antwerpiensis (cf. AT II 601–2). The first concerns the attack on a horn-work (hoornwerk–a double bastion vaguely resembling a bull's head). Waessenaer published his solution in a lost pamphlet of 1638, using Descartes’ “notes” (AT II 605).
Caterus, Johannes (Johan Kater or de Kater) (ca.1590–1655)
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Johannes Kater (better known under his Latinized name Caterus) was probably born in Haarlem, around 1590. He enrolled at Leuven (Louvain) in 1620 to study theology. He returned to Holland as a secular priest, reporting himself as such (conforming to regulations) to the Amsterdam magistrate in January 1629. In 1632 he was elected to the Haarlem Chapter on condition of obtaining a doctorate in theology. Accordingly, he returned to Louvain in 1634 and obtained degrees in law and theology. In 1638 he became “archpriest” (some sort of dean) of Alkmaar to supervise all pastoral activities in the northern part of the Province of Holland. He was praised for his learning and piety as well as his zeal on behalf of the Catholic religion, which brought him several times in conflict with the civil authorities. Probably at the suggestion of two Haarlem priests, Joan Albert Bannius (1597–1644) and Augustinus Alstenius Bloemaert (ca.1585–1659), two friends of Descartes, who were also members of the Haarlem Chapter, Caterus became the author of the First Objections (see AT III 267, CSMK 164). There is no evidence that at that point Descartes knew Caterus personally, although there is nothing to exclude that possibility either. In any case, Descartes probably knew him somewhat later, because after 1642 he lived almost permanently at Egmond, which is within walking distance (eight kilometers) of Alkmaar.
In the First Objections, Caterus concentrates on Descartes’ proofs of the existence of God, starting with the cosmological argument and the attendant notion of objective being (see being, formal versus objective). According to Caterus, objective being is the thing insofar as it is thought or perceived, not a reality caused by that thing – an “extrinsic denomination that adds nothing to the thing itself” (AT VII 92, CSM II 66–67). As a result, the causal principle does not apply. As for the second cosmological argument for God's existence, which proceeds from the existence of the meditator who possesses the idea of God, Caterus agrees that if a thing is the cause of itself in the positive sense of the word, that is, if it is truly and fully the cause of itself, it would necessarily give itself all the perfections of which it has an idea.
Reneri, Henricus (Henri Regnier) (1593–1639)
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- By Theo Verbeek, Universiteit Utrecht
- Edited by Lawrence Nolan, California State University, Long Beach
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Born in Huy (near Liège) and educated at Louvain (Collège du Faucon) and the Liège Seminary, Reneri was destined for the priesthood. However, he converted to Calvinism and fled to Leiden, where he pursued his theological studies at the university. After a period as private tutor, he became professor of philosophy at the Illustrious School of Deventer in 1631. In 1634 he exchanged this position for a professorship in philosophy at Utrecht, where he died five years later. Descartes must have known Reneri right from the beginning of his stay in the Netherlands, in 1629. Not only did they become intimate friends, but Reneri was instrumental in creating Descartes’ Dutch network. Unlike Mersenne, he seems to have done that with great discretion (there were even complaints that he was shielding Descartes from the outside world). Although Reneri was a great admirer of Descartes, he was not a Cartesian. A Baconian of sorts (in Utrecht he pleaded for the appointment of an official fact-collector, who would go to Amsterdam and interrogate mariners and artisans) and involved with the Hartlib Circle, he seems to have been fairly traditional and eclectic in his teaching. In fact, his position is difficult to assess given the fact that, apart from a dozen disputations, he did not leave any writings. The funeral address at his death, written and pronounced by the professor of history Antonius Aemilius (1589–1660), derailed into an excessive eulogy of Descartes and caused something of a scandal.
See also Calvinism; Mersenne, Marin; Regius, Henricus
Hogelande, Cornelis Van (ca.1590–1662)
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- By Theo Verbeek, Universiteit Utrecht
- Edited by Lawrence Nolan, California State University, Long Beach
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Van Hogelande was the son of a Catholic nobleman from Zeeland. Both his father (Johannes) and his uncle (Theobald) were interested in scientific questions, Theobald being known as an alchemist. Little is known about Cornelis's life, except that he remained unmarried and that he settled at Leiden as a medical practitioner, after studies at Leiden and presumably also abroad. He was a trusted friend of Descartes, who on leaving for Sweden put him in charge of a trunk with personal belongings. In a letter to Van Hogelande, Descartes gives his definitive and fairly negative judgment on Comenius (1592–1670). Van Hogelande also published two philosophical works: Cogitationes quibus Dei existentia, item animae spiritualitas … demonstrantur (1646) and De divina praedestinatione (1653). In the Conversation with Burman, Descartes suggests that, despite the fact that Van Hogelande never follows him exactly, he understands the spirit of his work, which is true. Van Hogelande argues for the existence of a providential agent behind the continually changing world of nature, who controls the mechanism of the human body and the machine of the universe, the difference between bodies and humans being that the latter have consciousness. Free will on the other hand would consist in freely consenting to what cannot be denied.
See also Conversation with Burman, Free Will, Human Being, Machine
Correspondence
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- By Theo Verbeek, Universiteit Utrecht, Erik-Jan Bos, École normale supérieure de Lyon
- Edited by Lawrence Nolan, California State University, Long Beach
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- The Cambridge Descartes Lexicon
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Like most seventeenth-century intellectuals and scholars, Descartes entertained a correspondence, letters being in this period the main channel for the communication of scientific news. Letters were often shared with others, and this was one of the reasons why their authors usually kept an archive of minutes, first drafts, or full copies. In Paris and other centers of learning, there were mostly informal circles of friends (often called “academies”), in which letters were read and discussed on a weekly or even a daily basis. Usually they constitute an essential part of a philosopher's or scientist's legacy, not only because they illuminate the various stages through which an idea passed before being known to the public, but also because they give insight into, for example, secret or immature thoughts or discarded plans. All of this can also be said of the correspondence of Descartes, whose letters serve by and large the same purpose as those of other philosophers and scientists of the period – to react to news and gossip, to discuss plans, to propose and solve problems, to deal with objections, and to discuss and communicate data. However, in some respects his correspondence is peculiar. First of all, by its quantity: the volume as we know it (and much of it was lost) is almost twice that of his published works and four times that of his posthumous works. Moreover, although Descartes was in contact with many of his contemporaries, few people wrote to him directly: most of the French correspondence passed through the hands of Mersenne. Finally, the way in which Descartes’ correspondence survives poses an enormous challenge.
Before leaving the Low Countries in the autumn of 1649, Descartes entrusted Cornelis Van Hogelande with a trunk containing letters and papers, instructing him that these should be burned in the event of his death. Presumably, these were mainly letters written to Descartes since he took the minutes of his correspondence and his unpublished manuscripts with him to Sweden. Whether Van Hogelande did burn the letters we do not know. In one case (that of Constantijn Huygens), it is certain that he restituted the letters to their sender. After Descartes’ death, an inventory was made of his possessions. Chanut, the French ambassador in whose house Descartes died, sent personal belongings to the Descartes family but kept his scientific writings, including the general correspondence.