Study and Meditation Book

This is a marvellous historiography of philosophy and the Enlightenment. It gives an overview starting with Descartes and how his views impacted the world. It is very entertaining and readable with a minimum of philosophical jargon. Its' "European philosophy 101" and I see nothing wrong with that.

The basic premise is that Descartes pulled Europe away from an ecclesiastical paradigm. Prior, religion was the primary knowledge source for everything. Descartes liberated the search for knowledge. Nature (man included) was something that could now be studied without the need of religion to intervene - or more bluntly, religion became superfluous for the accumulation and spreading of knowledge.

Knowledge came to be viewed as rational and analytical. Theology became relegated to a branch of the learning tree. God was no longer a major player in the acquisition of learning.

The author cleverly imparts this overview to us by giving the history of Descartes bones or skeletal remains through the ages. It is a detective story where we learn the influence of Descartes on the history of learning since the publication of his Discourses.

There is a brief discussion of the persistence of religion in our society (both Christian and Muslim) and its' constant collision with the secular world that started with the writings of Descartes. No real solutions are offered except to suggest that the worlds must co-exist by moderates on both sides coming to an accommodation.

All-in-all this is a most readable work on the European Enlightenment. The author traces well the different thought patterns or philosophical off-shoots of Descartes legacy.