What are Principia philosophiae cartesianae? (I)

Descartes' Principles of Philosophy, published in 1663, displays a mosaic of quotations from Cartesian texts used now implicitly, now explicitly. This makes it possible to initiate a comparison between the Cartesian materials themselves and the Spinozian exposition. In this way, it is possible to answer one of the most complex questions related to the work: does it represent a faithful or unfaithful exposition of Cartesianism? The nature of the Principles is peculiar: they are in fact faithful to Spinozism because they are faithful to the system expounded. The key to understanding this apparent paradox is offered to us by the Spinozian geometric method.

 Homero Santiago, born in Sao Paulo, Brazil, is professor of History of Modern Philosophy at the Department of Philosophy, University de São Paulo. In addition to numerous published essays and the translation of Descartes' Principles of Philosophy and Metaphysical Thoughts (2016), he is the author of Espinosa e o cartesianismo: o estabelecimento da ordem nos Princípios da filosofia cartesiana (2004), Amor e desejo (2011), Geometria do instituído: estudo sobre a gramática hebraica espinosana (2014) and Entre servidão e liberdade (2019).