Project Gutenberg 2003-08-01 Public domain in the USA. 573 Descartes, René 1596 1650 Descartes, Rene Veitch, John 1829 1894 Selections from the Principles of Philosophy Wikipedia page about this book: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Principles_of_Philosophy Produced by Steve Harris, Charles Franks and the Online Distributed Proofreading Team. "Selections from the Principles of Philosophy" by René Descartes is a philosophical work possibly written in the early 17th century. This collection includes the preface and the initial sections of Descartes' seminal work, addressing the foundational aspects of human knowledge, the nature of existence, and the utility of philosophy. The text delves into how clear and evident principles can lead to the highest degree of wisdom, contrasting traditional philosophical doctrines with Descartes’ rational approach. The opening of this work presents Descartes' purpose in explicating the principles upon which knowledge is built, emphasizing the necessity of doubting everything that can be doubted to arrive at certainty. He introduces the famous assertion "I think, therefore I am" as a fundamental truth that cannot be doubted. Additionally, he argues for the distinct nature of the mind and body, setting the stage for discussions about the existence of God, the nature of reality, and the pursuit of wisdom. Descartes articulates that true philosophy serves not only to illuminate the nature of existence but also to lead individuals toward a better understanding of themselves and their place in the world. (This is an automatically generated summary.) Reading ease score: 40.2 (College-level). Difficult to read. en Philosophy B Text Philosophy Category: Philosophy & Ethics 219106 2025-08-02T11:16:17.179700 text/html 218927 2025-01-09T00:09:27.809126 text/html 145295 2025-08-02T11:16:23.146706 application/epub+zip 147640 2025-08-02T11:16:20.114728 application/epub+zip 141932 2025-08-02T11:16:19.030720 application/epub+zip 312195 2025-08-02T11:16:25.443659 application/x-mobipocket-ebook 298541 2025-08-02T11:16:22.403708 application/x-mobipocket-ebook 277757 2022-09-02T14:26:35.417906 application/x-mobipocket-ebook 200271 2025-08-02T11:16:16.915716 text/plain; charset=us-ascii 180361 2024-06-17T12:16:28 text/plain; charset=us-ascii 17131 2025-08-02T11:16:25.597661 application/rdf+xml 15956 2025-08-02T11:16:19.524686 image/jpeg 3576 2025-08-02T11:16:19.278695 image/jpeg 143021 2025-08-02T11:16:17.196707 application/octet-stream application/zip Archives containing the RDF files for *all* our books can be downloaded at https://book.klll.cc/wiki/Gutenberg:Feeds#The_Complete_Project_Gutenberg_Catalog fr.wikipedia en.wikipedia en.wikipedia