ABSTRACT
Descartes' Conception of the place of metaphysics among the sciences has given rise to a great deal of dispute. From one point of view, the metaphysics is the maid-servant of the rest of the sciences. It is merely the root of the tree of knowledge, the key to the rest of the sciences. Setting aside Descartes' own statement that metaphysics is the root of the sciences, on the grounds that the physics is self-sufficient and capable of independent exposition, M. Liard affirms that Descartes pursued physical investigations before metaphysical, and that the explanation of physical phenomenon was the dominant and perpetual interest of his life. His physics differs from medieval physics in being free from "metaphysical" ideas. Descartes' attitude to theology gives an important clue to the structure of his mind. His elevation of the practical is a deep-rooted characteristic, and one of the main aspects of his revolt against Aristotelianism.
