Consisting of twelve newly commissioned essays and enhanced by William Molyneux's famous early translation of the Meditations. Situates the Meditations in its philosophical and historical context. Touches on all of the major themes of the Meditations, including the mind-body relation, the nature of the mind, and the existence of the material world.

Table of Contents

• Notes on Contributors
• References to Descartes' Works
• Introduction - Stephen Gaukroger
• 1 The Meditations and the Objections and Replies - Roger Ariew
• 2 Descartes and Skepticism - Charles Larmore
• 3 The Cogito and the Foundations of Knowledge - Edwin Curley
• 4 The Nature of the Mind - Marleen Rozemond
• 5 The Doctrine of Substance - Jorge Secada
• 6 The Doctrine of Ideas - Steven Nadler
• 7 Proofs for the Existence of God - Lawrence Nolan; Alan Nelson
• 8 The Cartesian Circle - Gary Hatfield
• 9 Judgment and Will - Michael Della Rocca
• 10 Descartes' Proof of the Existence of Matter - Desmond M. Clarke
• 11 The Mind–Body Relation - John Cottingham
• 12 Seventeenth-century Responses to the Meditations - Tad M. Schmaltz
• Appendix: Descartes' Six Metaphysical Meditations, trans. William Molyneux (1680)
• References