Descartes und das Problem der Philosophie

Descartes' understanding of philosophy gains its contours, among other things, in a multi-layered engagement with theology. Equally stimulating, especially in the early work, are 'natural scientific' concepts, whose fascination, however, gradually weakens in favor of ideas such as meditation, reïteration, and reflection. In this context, the changing evaluation of innovation and priority as well as the function of authority and tradition for Descates' philosophizing are illuminated, his carefully concealed model of language and its relevance for his concept of philosophy are interpreted, and his earliest philosophical thought experiments, his treatise on the love of God, and the increasingly fragile difference between philosophizing and philosophy are examined.