Introduction

David Cunning

doi:10.1017/CCO9781139088220.001

The Meditations and Its Reception Meditations on First Philosophy was first published in 1641, and Descartes certainly knew that it would generate controversy. He introduces a number of radical ideas in the course of laying out his views and arguments - for example, that God might be a thoroughgoing deceiver or that He might not exist; that what we know best about bodies is not known through the senses at all and that, for example, our mathematical and non-sensory idea of the sun might be a more accurate rendition of the sun than the idea that presents it as yellow and hot; that God exists, and His will is the eternal and immutable and supremely independent cause of all reality and truth; and that the external world that surrounds us is best understood as being devoid of light and sound and sensory qualities altogether. Descartes dedicates the Meditations to "those most learned and distinguished men, the Dean and Doctors of the sacred Faculty of Theology at Paris" (AT 7: 1). He does so in part to increase the odds that he will be heard: Whatever the quality of my arguments may be, because they have to do with philosophy I do not expect they will enable me to achieve anything very worthwhile unless you come to my aid by granting me your patronage. The reputation of your Faculty is so firmly fixed in the minds of all, and the name of the Sorbonne has such authority that, with the exception of the Sacred Councils, no institution carries more weight than yours in matters of faith; while as regards human philosophy, you are thought of as second to none, both for insight and soundness and also for the integrity and wisdom of your pronouncements. ("Dedicatory Letter to the Sorbonne," AT 7: 5) As we will see, Descartes spends a lot of time outside of the Meditations articulating the ways in which tradition and authority can keep a mind from registering the force of a rigorous argument. But tradition and authority might also be harnessed in the other direction, and Descartes is hoping that an endorsement from the Sorbonne will hold the objections of his readers at bay, at least until the arguments of the Meditations are able finally to get through.

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