McCauley, Harry (2004) Circling Descartes. Maynooth Philosophical Papers, 2. pp. 70-83.
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Abstract
From its initial, pre-publication circulation amongst a group of his contemporaries right up to the present day, Descartes�s Meditations has remained a highly controversial philosophical text. Perhaps the most controversial aspect of the text is whether a circular argument lies at its very heart � a circular argument which would, quite literally, destroy the very edifice of knowledge which Descartes had tried so hard to rebuild upon secure and solid foundations. In this paper I want to have another look at the Cartesian Circle and to argue that, for all the undoubted ingenuity of Descartes�s various responses to the issue, a damaging circle remains in place and, moreover, I shall argue, it is a circle which outruns Descartes�s standard resources for responding to the charge of circularity.
| Item Type: | Article |
|---|---|
| Keywords: | Descartes |
| Academic Unit: | Faculty of Arts,Celtic Studies and Philosophy > Philosophy |
| Item ID: | 422 |
| Depositing User: | Harry McCauley |
| Date Deposited: | 12 Oct 2006 |
| Journal or Publication Title: | Maynooth Philosophical Papers |
| Publisher: | National University of Ireland Maynooth |
| Refereed: | Yes |
| Use Licence: | This item is available under a Creative Commons Attribution Non Commercial Share Alike Licence (CC BY-NC-SA). Details of this licence are available here |
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