Descartes after Gaukroger

John Sutton*

*Corresponding author for this work

    Research output: Chapter in Book/Report/Conference proceedingChapterpeer-review

    Abstract

    Remembering Stephen Gaukroger’s extraordinary contributions on the history of the mind-body problem and other key issues in cognitive history, this essay assesses relations between historical and contemporary ideas about memory and mind. It considers forms of anachronism and presentism that Stephen avoided. It contrasts persistent prevailing stereotypes and misinterpretations of Descartes’ putative errors, in committing what Rorty called ‘the original sin of modern philosophy’, with the richer reality described in Stephen’s revisionary account. On a range of issues, contemporary quests for ‘post-Cartesian agency’ could paradoxically draw on Descartes’ own views about embodied and dynamic cognitive processes.

    Original languageEnglish
    Title of host publicationScience and the shaping of modernity
    Subtitle of host publicationessays in honor of Stephen Gaukroger
    EditorsCharles Wolfe, Anik Waldow
    Place of PublicationCham, Switzerland
    PublisherSpringer, Springer Nature
    Chapter1
    Pages1-10
    Number of pages10
    ISBN (Electronic)9783031760372
    ISBN (Print)9783031760365
    DOIs
    Publication statusPublished - 2024

    Publication series

    NameStudies in History and Philosophy of Science
    PublisherSpringer
    Volume62
    ISSN (Print)1871-7381
    ISSN (Electronic)2215-1958

    Keywords

    • Cognitive history
    • Descartes
    • Disenchantment
    • Gaukroger
    • Mind-body problem

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