Descartes' Bones: A Skeletal History of the Conflict Between Faith and Reason

Title: Descartes' Bones: A Skeletal History of the Conflict Between Faith and Reason
Author: Russell Shorto
I9781720167662: 1708440
ISBN: 9780307275660
Publisher: Knopf Doubleday Publishing Group
Published: 2009
Binding: Paperback
Language: English
Edition: Reprint
Number of Pages: 336
Section: History | Modern | 17th Century
Condition Note: Excellent, unmarked copy with little wear and tight binding. We ship in recyclable American-made mailers. 100% money-back guarantee on all orders.
Publisher Description:

Sixteen years after René Descartes' death in Stockholm in 1650, a pious French ambassador exhumed the remains of the controversial philosopher to transport them back to Paris. Thus began a 350-year saga that saw Descartes' bones traverse a continent, passing between kings, philosophers, poets, and painters.

But as Russell Shorto shows in this deeply engaging book, Descartes' bones also played a role in some of the most momentous episodes in history, which are also part of the philosopher's metaphorical remains: the birth of science, the rise of democracy, and the earliest debates between reason and faith. Descartes' Bones is a flesh-and-blood story about the battle between religion and rationalism that rages to this day.

A New York Times Notable Book