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In Defense of Real Cartesian Motion

Thomas, Emily

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Abstract

On Thomas Lennon’s (2007) “Eleatic” reading of Descartes, the Cartesian world is in reality motionless, its motions conceived as mere phenomenal appearances. Lennon is aware that this radical reading appears to be at odds with various Cartesian texts that seemingly describe real motions, and accordingly he reinterprets these texts in such a way as to render them compatible with his reading. This reply to Lennon considers many further Cartesian texts that cannot be “reinterpreted” along the lines Lennon describes, with the ultimate aim of showing that the phenomenalist is committed to dividing Cartesian texts into passages dealing with reality and with appearance. I argue there are good reasons not to read Descartes in this way, and we should take Cartesian motion at face value: to be real.

Citation

Thomas, E. (2015). In Defense of Real Cartesian Motion. Journal of the History of Philosophy, 53(4), 747-762. https://doi.org/10.1353/hph.2015.0067

Journal Article Type Article
Acceptance Date Jan 2, 2015
Publication Date Oct 1, 2015
Deposit Date Oct 21, 2016
Publicly Available Date Mar 29, 2024
Journal Journal of the History of Philosophy
Print ISSN 0022-5053
Electronic ISSN 1538-4586
Publisher Johns Hopkins University Press
Peer Reviewed Peer Reviewed
Volume 53
Issue 4
Pages 747-762
DOI https://doi.org/10.1353/hph.2015.0067

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Copyright Statement
Copyright © 2015 The Johns Hopkins University Press. This article first appeared in Journal of the History of Philosophy, Volume 53, Issue 4, October 2015, pages 747-762.





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