Cartesian Theodicy: Descartes Quest for Certitude (International Archives of the History of Ideas Archives internationales d'histoire des ides, 168)

Almost all interpreters of Cartesian philosophy have hitherto focused on the epistemological aspect of Descartes' thought. In his __Cartesian Theodicy__, Janowski demonstrates that Descartes' epistemological problems are merely rearticulations of theological questions. For example, Descartes' attempt to define the role of God in man's cognitive fallibility is a reiteration of an old argument that points out the incongruity between the existence of God and evil, and his pivotal question `whence error?' is shown here to be a rephrasing of the question `whence evil?' The answer Descartes gives in the __Meditations__ is actually a reformulation of the answer found in St. Augustine's __De Libero Arbitrio__ and the __Confessions__. The influence of St. Augustine on Descartes can also be detected in the doctrine of eternal truths which, within the context of the 17th-century debates over the question of the nature of divine freedom, caused Descartes to ally himself with the Augustinian Oratorians against the Jesuits. Both in his __Cartesian Theodicy__ as well as his __Index Augustino-Cartesian, Textes et____Commentaire__ Janowski shows that the entire Cartesian metaphysics can - and should - be read within the context of Augustinian thought. Almost all interpreters of Cartesian philosophy have hitherto focused on the epistemological aspect of Descartes' thought. In his Cartesian Theodicy , Janowski demonstrates that Descartes' epistemological problems are merely rearticulations of theological questions. For example, Descartes' attempt to define the role of God in man's cognitive fallibility is a reiteration of an old argument that points out the incongruity between the existence of God and evil, and his pivotal question `whence error?' is shown here to be a rephrasing of the question `whence evil?' The answer Descartes gives in the Meditations is actually a reformulation of the answer found in St. Augustine's De Libero Arbitrio and the Confessions . The influence of St. Augustine on Descartes can also be detected in the doctrine of eternal truths which, within the context of the 17th-century debates over the question of the nature of divine freedom, caused Descartes to ally himself with the Augustinian Oratorians against the Jesuits. Both in his Cartesian Theodicy as well as his Index Augustino-Cartesian, Textes et Commentaire Janowski shows that the entire Cartesian metaphysics can - and should - be read within the context of Augustinian thought. Front Matter....Pages 1-11 Introduction....Pages 13-21 The Meditations as Theodicy....Pages 23-48 Can God Deceive Us?....Pages 49-78 Divine Freedom: The Doctrine of the Eternal Truths....Pages 79-111 Human Freedom....Pages 113-140 Descartes — Reader of St. Augustine....Pages 141-149 How Rational is Descartes’ Rationalism?....Pages 151-162 Back Matter....Pages 163-190