Meditations on First Philosophy

About Meditations on First Philosophy

Meditations on First Philosophy (1641)—full titles Meditations on First Philosophy, in which the existence of God and the immortality of the soul are demonstrated—is a philosophical treatise by French philosopher and mathematician René Descartes. First published in Latin, the book is made up of six meditations written as if Descartes had meditated for six days; each meditation refers to the last one as “yesterday.” The author rejects all belief in things that are not absolutely certain and then attempts to establish what can be absolutely certain. Meditations on First Philosophy (1641)—full titles Meditations on First Philosophy, in which the existence of God and the immortality of the soul are demonstrated—is a philosophical treatise by French philosopher and mathematician René Descartes. First published in Latin, the book is made up of six meditations written as if Descartes had meditated for six days; each meditation refers to the last one as "yesterday." The author rejects all belief in things that are not absolutely certain and then attempts to establish what can be absolutely certain.