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Thought Provoking
“For those of us who are not on top of our philosopers, this book is helpful in putting the emerging tenets of modernity in perspective. The reaction to medieval thinking, the minds that developed scientific investigation, the view of humanity that lead to revolution, and subsequent investigation into the development of the mind were all very interesting. The person of DesCartes as a pivotal person in investigative thinking was at the heart of the book and represented by his elusive skull. At times the search for missing bones was tedious for those who are not really interested in monitoring human remains. That said, the beginning and the ending of the book were stronger than some middle chapters for that reason. The author's ability to connect the past with present social and political developments was masterful. In fact, I came away with the impression that there was no significant conflict between faith and reason for those of us who subscribe to moderate views. The radicals and fundamentalists of both sides of the issue, however, appeared destructive and off track in their inflexibility. ”
An amazon user wrote this on 2009-10-30. -
Looked good on the cover
“Descartes' Bones looks good on the shelf, and carries an intriguing subtitle. Unfortunately, the double story of the mystery of the mortal remains of one of history's most famous philosophers juxtaposed to the conflict between faith and reason spends too much time on the former and doesn't even scratch the surface of the latter.
An amazon user wrote this on 2009-10-29.
I am not a student of philosophical evolution, and can't approach this book the way others here have. I do know a good story when I see one, though, and after picking up Descartes' Bones, I found myself continuing to look.
The mystery of the bones is moderately interesting placed firmly in the category of the strange things people do in the presence of celebrity. The linkage to the conflict between faith and reason (why I picked this up in the first place), though, doesn't leave me - the lay reader - saying 'wow', or even 'hmmm'. The final chapter, in fact, where Mr Shorto waxes philosophic on the currency of the faith/reason divide left me cold - unfortunate as it followed immediately on the best part of the mystery of the bones.
According to other reviews here, Mr Shorto's previous book on New Amsterdam was quite good. I recommend you try that rather than this.” -
A "Ripley's Believe It or Not" item stretched into a 250-page book
“The book really is about Descartes's bones but, obviously, about much more than that. The story about the earthly wanderings of the philosopher's remains are the starting point for a consideration of modernity. The challenge for the author is to relate, on one hand, the reconstruction of a slightly strange story about the bodily remains of the father of mind-body dualism to, on the other, a host of sweeping issues such as the relation between faith and reason, science and religion, our attitudes towards medicine and death, etc. Does it work? To a point, although at times it feels as if a "Ripley's Believe It or Not" item was stretched into a 250-page book. ”
An amazon user wrote this on 2009-10-10. -
More than just the bones
“ This book was given to me as a gift and I did not quite know that I was getting more than just a forensic study of Descartes remains. That story by itself was interesting enough, compelling even, but the reader is furthermore treated to numerous diversions to portraits of people and places connected with Descartes, his bones, and his philosophy. The book develops into a very good description of the Englightenment and is worth reading from that aspect alone, even if you have no interest in the bones. Some readers might be turned off by the numerous side trips to look at various people and places connected with the story of Descartes, but the author handles these skillfully and makes this book well worth the read.”
An amazon user wrote this on 2009-09-08. -
The subtitle pretty much says it.
“The narrative framework is provided by the odd journeys of Descartes' mortal remains.
An amazon user wrote this on 2009-08-24.
I read Descartes in college, of course, so I knew what he wrote, but somehow missed his place in the history of knowledge. Shorto gives him credit as the actual inventor of critical thinking, and a little reflection convinces me he is probably right. This makes Descartes a more towering figure than I thought.
Among other controversies, Shorto traces the history of the mind and body problem, but pulls the final punch and refuses to admit it as finally resolved. He quotes a contemporary philosopher, Thomas Nagel:
"For many philosophers the exemplary case of reality is the world described by physics, the science in which we have achieved our greatest detachment from a specifically human perspective on the world. But for precisely that reason physics is bound to leave undescribed the irreducibly subjective character of conscious mental processes, whatever may be their intimate relation to the physical operation of the brain. The subjectivity of consciousness is an irreducible feature of reality--without which we couldn't do physics or anything else--and it must occupy as fundamental a place in any credible world view as matter, energy, space, time, and numbers."
Leaving aside that Mr. Nagel would appear to have constructed his own definition solely for the purpose of knocking it down, which seems to me a somewhat dubious technique suggesting he knew where he intended to go before he set out, this seems to me the same old wine in a new bottle, not improved any with age. It is true we do not understand how consciousness works, but who is to say we never will? I fervently hope we never will, because then somebody is bound to create an artificial one, and it is no mystery what a disaster that might be. But it could happen. Time and time again we have heard this: science cannot explain this, evolution cannot explain that, but in the end seems to, anyway.
Altogether I found Descartes Bones very interesting: informative and thought provoking. As a bonus, it ends with an ironic twist worthy of a fine novel, the more savory for being true. Well worth the price of admission, I thought.”
