The princess and the philosopher : letters of Elisabeth of the Palatine to René Descartes
For a number of years, those interested in recovering women's thought have known about Princess Elisabeth, a seventeenth-century correspondent, friend, and an acute, persistent critic of Descartes's philosophy. Her questions provoked the philosopher to think more seriously about ethics and the passions, as Elisabeth found his answer--that an all-powerful God can do anything--extremely unsatisfactory. Up to now, only a few of her letters have found their way into print. This volume includes translations of all of Elisabeth's extant letters to Descartes, as well as of other materials relevant to understanding her philosophical perspective and her life. Andrea Nye analyzes the correspondence between Elisabeth and Descartes to support the thesis that Elisabeth developed and defended a worldly philosophy of life in opposition to the unworldly rules Descartes offered for living a tranquil and happy life. Nye has supplemented the translations with a running commentary on the historical, biographical, and intellectual context of the letters
Print Book, English, ©1999
Rowman & Littlefield Publishers, Lanham, Md., ©1999
personal correspondence
xiii, 187 pages : illustrations ; 23 cm
9780847692651, 9780847692644, 0847692655, 0847692647
40158918
Chapter 1 Preface Chapter 2 Prologue: A Terrible Grief Chapter 3 1 The First Overtures Chapter 4 2 Body and Soul Chapter 5 3 The Scent of a Rose Chapter 6 4 An Initial Disappointment Chapter 7 5 The Uses of Metaphysics Chapter 8 6 A Test Chapter 9 7 The Philosophic Muse Chapter 10 8 Doctor-Philosopher Chapter 11 9 A Life Blessed with Happiness Chapter 12 10 The Burdens of Civility Chapter 13 11 A Discourse on Prudence Chapter 14 12 The Consolations of Theology Chapter 15 13 Traitor to the Cause Chapter 16 14 A Silence between Friends Chapter 17 15 Master of Passion Chapter 18 16 A Certain Languor Chapter 19 17 Murder in the Streets Chapter 20 18 The Prince Chapter 21 19 Magic Powers Chapter 22 20 An Ungrateful Disciple Chapter 23 21 An Accusation of Blasphemy Chapter 24 22 A New Patroness Chapter 25 23 The Purloined Letters Chapter 26 24 Affairs of State Chapter 27 25 On the Advantages of Partition and Death by Beheading Chapter 28 26 A Royal Summons Chapter 29 27 Reason in the Service of Sense Chapter 30 28 In the Land of Ice and Snow Chapter 31 Epilogue: The Abbess of Herford Chapter 32 Notes Chapter 33 Bibliography Chapter 34 Index Chapter 35 About the Author