Antonia Birnbaum's 'Le vertige d'une pensée' Reexamines Descartes Through Elisabeth of Bohemia
Antonia Birnbaum's book 'Le vertige d'une pensée', published by Éditions Horlieu, repositions Princess Elisabeth of Bohemia as a crucial interlocutor in Descartes' philosophy. The work argues that Elisabeth's correspondence with Descartes prompted him to address the mind-body union, a tension left unresolved in his 'Meditations'. Birnbaum suggests that this exchange reveals a different Descartes—one who lived more than he meditated—and that the essence of the 'Meditations' lies not in the God they lead to but in the doubt that sets them in motion. The essay proposes that thinking is like swimming, a resistance to drowning. The review is by Alexandra Makowiak.
Key facts
- Antonia Birnbaum is the author of 'Le vertige d'une pensée'.
- The book is published by Éditions Horlieu.
- It focuses on Princess Elisabeth of Bohemia, called 'the woman of the Passions'.
- Elisabeth's correspondence with Descartes led to his work 'Passions of the Soul'.
- Birnbaum argues Descartes revisited the mind-body separation from the 'Meditations'.
- The book presents a Descartes who spent more time living than meditating.
- The review was written by Alexandra Makowiak.
- The essay compares thinking to swimming as resistance to drowning.
Entities
Artists
- Antonia Birnbaum
- René Descartes
- Princess Elisabeth of Bohemia
- Denis Kambouchner
- Alexandra Makowiak
Institutions
- Éditions Horlieu
Sources
- artpress —