Meditations on First Philosophy & Other Metaphysical Writings

This elegant collector’s edition presents Jean-Jacques Rousseau’s classic philosophical work, Meditations on First Philosophy, featuring gold cover embossing and gilded page-edges.

The Meditations on First Philosophy is one of Descartes’s best-known works and one of the most influential philosophical texts ever written. This treatise offers Descartes’ metaphysical views on the relationship between the mind and thought, the nature of reality and how accumulated knowledge and our experiences affect us.

First published in 1641, the work consists of six meditations on the following topics: the dubiousness of thoughts and assumptions - as Descartes puts it, ’what can be called into doubt’; the nature of the human mind; the existence of God; truth versus falsehood; the essence of material things and, finally, the difference between mind and body. For anyone interested in the study of philosophy, this is an essential and illuminating read.

This beautiful pocket-sized gift edition contains the classic and unabridged text, presented with a gold embossed cover design, ivory pages, beautifully designed endpapers and goldgilded page edges. Part of the ArcturusOrnate Classics series, this book makes wonderful gift for any philosophy lover.

ABOUT THE SERIES: Arcturus Ornate Classics are beautifully bound editions of iconic literary works across history. These compact, foil-embossed hardbacks are printed using deluxe ivory paper and make the perfect gift.

René Descartes (1596-1650) is best known for his statement on the link between thought and existence: ’Cogito, ergo sum’. A renowned mathematician, philosopher and scientist, Descartes was born in France, but spent some 20 years living in the Dutch Republic, serving in the Dutch States Army of Maurice of Nassau. In addition to Meditations on First Philosophy, he is also known for Discourse on the Method (1637) and Principles of Philosophy (1644).

Frank Sewall (1837-1915) was an American Swedenborgian clergyman with a keen interest in metaphysical philosophy. His publications include The New Metaphysics (1888), Swedenborg and Modern Idealism (1902) and the introduction and notes to Emanual F. Gorqitz’s translation of Immanuel Kant’s Dreams of a Spirit-Seer (1900).