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A Skeletal History of the Conflict between Faith and Reason
Doubleday
October 2008
On Sale: October 14, 2008
320 pages
ISBN: 038551753X
EAN: 9780385517539
Hardcover
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Non-Fiction History
In 1666, sixteen years after his death, the bones of
René Descartes were dug up in the middle of the night and
transported from Sweden to France under the watchful eye
of the French Ambassador. This was only the beginning of
the journey for Descartes’ bones, which, over the next 350
years, were fought over, stolen, sold, revered as relics,
studied by scientists, used in séances, and passed
surreptitiously from hand to hand.
But why would
anyone care so much about the remains of one long-dead
philosopher? The answer lies in Descartes’ famous phrase
cogito, ergo sum: “I think, therefore I am.” At the
root of this statement are skepticism and the world-
shattering notion that one could look to facts that could
be proved for truth rather than relying on the Church’s
teachings and tradition.
In the years that
followed, this powerful idea and Descartes’ physical
remains became intertwined with many of the major forces
that define the modern era, influencing everything from
the religious wars of the seventeenth century and the rise
of democracy to today’s greatest conflicts, such as the
struggle between Islamic fascism and the Western world.
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