Descartes' Bones: A Skeletal History of the Conflict Between Faith and Reason

Sixteen years after René Descartes' death in Stockholm in 1650, a pious French ambassador exhumed the remains of the controversial philosopher to transport them back to Paris. Thus began a 350-year saga that saw Descartes' bones traverse a continent, passing between kings, philosophers, poets, and painters.

But as Russell Shorto shows in this deeply engaging book, Descartes' bones also played a role in some of the most momentous episodes in history, which are also part of the philosopher's metaphorical remains: the birth of science, the rise of democracy, and the earliest debates between reason and faith. Descartes' Bones is a flesh-and-blood story about the battle between religion and rationalism that rages to this day.

A New York Times Notable Book

Author: Russell Shorto
Publisher: Vintage
Published: 08/25/2009
Pages: 336
Binding Type: Paperback
Weight: 0.70lbs
Size: 7.98h x 5.28w x 0.69d
ISBN: 9780307275660

Review Citation(s):
New York Times Book Review 10/18/2009 pg. 24

About the Author
Russell Shorto is the author of five books and is a contributing writer at the The New York Times Magazine. His books have been published in fourteen languages and have won numerous awards. From 2008 to 2013, he was the director of the John Adams Institute in Amsterdam.