Introduction

This volume gathers together a number of new studies of Descartes’ natural philosophy. We have not concerned ourselves with the textbook image of Descartes in philosophy or the history of ideas, as father of modern philosophy, or as the inventor of modern epistemology, mind/body dualism, or advocate of a universal method. Rather, we focus on Descartes in the context of his times as a pioneer of the mechanical philosophy and leading practitioner of mathematics and a number of the then existing specialised traditions of scientific endeavour, such as mechanics, optics, anatomy, and physiology (including psycho-physiology). We view Descartes, moreover, as a natural philosopher whose aims and agendas were not independent of the social and intellectual contexts within which he was working; and as someone who, over time, not only achieved numerous remarkable successes, but who also endured several deflections of aim, tactical retreats and outright failures.