"Machamer and McGuire painstakingly trace the development of Descartes' views on the means and extent of human knowledge as it relates to science and metaphysics. Beginning with a conception of knowledge as based on abstraction from sensory experience and as capable of delivering truths about the simple natures of things in his early work, Descartes, they argue, radically changes his ... Read moremind about the powers and scope of the mind, arriving finally at a conception that relies heavily upon innate ideas and a limitation of humans' cognitive reach to a world that is suitably framed to their natures as mind-body unities."
Choice "Machamer and McGuire are thus to be congratulated for taking on the difficult task of providing a reading of Descartes's entire corpus, spanning over two decades and five completed works, that treats it as a dynamic progression, rather than a static system. In so doing, they pay careful attention to the historical chronology, the Scholastic background, Descartes's replies to his philosophical interlocutors, and the scholarship on issues central to Descartes's mature positions. The result is a rich and controversial story that always engages the reader even if it does not always convince."
Helen Hattab, Notre Dame Philosophical Reviews "I believe that [Peter Machamer & J. E. McGuire] are to be commended for enabling us to take seriously the view that Descartes's opinions may have shifted in significant ways and for illustrating a different way to tell the story of the arc of Descartes's career."
Michael Della Rocca, Metascience Show Less