Descartes' Meditative Turn

Christopher Wild is Professor of Germanic Studies, Theater & Performance Studies and Associate Faculty in the Divinity School at the University of Chicago.

"This is a groundbreaking, dazzling, thought-provoking work that proposes a completely new reading of a—if not the—foundational text of modern Western philosophy. I cannot remember the last time a book so profoundly transformed my understanding of a canonical text."—Hall Bjørnstad, Indiana University Bloomington "This brilliant book examines the self-reflexive 'meditative matrix' cultivated by Descartes as a proving ground for the emergence of the cogito and the discovery of the 'marvelous science.' Wild draws attention to crucial but understudied features of the Cartesian philosophy."—Walter Melion, Emory University "Wild's Descartes' Meditative Turn is certain to prompt its own readers to turn once more to Descartes' Meditations. This wide-ranging intellectual history reveals afresh the depth of influence and ingenuity subtending Descartes' encounters with the genre and practice of meditation."—Andrea Gadberry, New York University "Wild's approach yields new interpretations of Descartes's understanding of the nature of evidence, his proofs for the existence of God, and even the example of the ball of wax.... Highly recommended."—C. D. Kay, CHOICE

• Introduction: Descartes' Meditative Turn and the Tradition of Spiritual Exercises1. Founding First Philosophies: Descartes' Conversion2. Method and Meditation: The Cartesian Art of Turning3. The Discernment of Ideas and the Evidence of the Cogito4. Cartesian Ceroplastics: Meditating the Mediality of the Mind5. Adversio, Animadversio, and Attentio: Turning toward God6. "To Gaze with Wonder and Adoration": Contemplatio Dei and Meditative AscentAcknowledgmentsNotesBibliographyIndex