Descartes:
The Life and Times of a Genius
by A.C. Grayling
Walker & Co., New York, 2006
320 pp. Trade, $ 26.95
ISBN 0-8027-1501-X.
Reviewed by Wilfred Niels Arnold
University of Kansas Medical Center
warnold@kumc.edu
In the spirit of full disclosure it
should be mentioned that our first family
cat was named "Explorador" which
was shortened to "X." We felt
it unfair to saddle the next arrival with
the doubt of "Y" so we called
him "Descartes." [X and
Y coordinates are used to define a point
in a plane by two numbers. The Cartesian
system was introduced by René Descartes
in 1637, within part two of his Discourse
on Method.]
René Descartes was born at
La Haye en Touraine (France) on March
31, 1596. His mother died of tuberculosis
the next year, but his father Joachim
(a judge) was able to arrange an otherwise
comfortable and nurturing environment
for René with relatives. He received
formal education at the Jesuit College
Royal Henry-Le-Grand at La Flèche,
followed by the University of Poitiers,
where he earned a Baccalauréat
and Licence in Law by 1616. Two
years later the young man entered the
civil service of Maurice of Nassau, United
Provinces (now part of The Netherlands),
which were in and out of Spanish domination
for decades. Between 1619 and 1625, Descartes
traveled over Europe, all the while observing,
absorbing, and analyzing the "great
book of the world," as he called
it.
In a wonderful body of work in physics,
mathematics, and philosophy Descartes
adroitly separated all of these from divine
matters and, thus, avoided conflicts,
for the most part, with the powers of
the day. But in 1628 he fell out of favor
in France and betook a self-imposed exile
for a dozen years to the Low Lands
where he frequently changed addresses.
During his lifetime the polymath received
much scholarly acclaim and international
recognition, which have only increased
with time. He died prematurely in 1650,
at Stockholm, while providing intellectual
stimulation for Queen Christina. His mortal
remains have been moved three times and
presently repose in Saint-Germain-des-Prés
(the oldest church in Paris). His birthplace
in the Loire Valley was renamed La Haye-Descartes
in 1802 and shortened to Descartes in
1967.
Grayling has written a readable and entertaining
book. He goes to some pains to distinguish
his "life and times" approach
from previous biographies, but admits
from the start that there are still great
gaps in documentation of vital aspects.
Attempts to build plausible hypotheses,
not least of which the possibility that
René Descartes was a Jesuit spy-at-large,
are engaging but sometimes tiresome and,
in the end, disappointing for lack of
data. As an example of Graylings
method (p. 81) "evidence suggests
either that [Descartes] was as
hypothesized an agent, most probably
for the Jesuits, investigating or keeping
an eye on actual or alleged Rosicrucians,
or that he was indeed one of them (or
for a time wished to be). . . . First
is the testimony of Descartes notebook,
the Olympica, known to Baillet
and Leibniz but since lost." Here
and elsewhere, Graylings linked
provisos and reservations are certainly
required (although he almost begs for
credit by his own admissions) but inevitably
lead to a disappearance in value for his
message. By analogy, a synthetic chemist
may be delighted with reactions that each
have 80% yield but he also realizes that
after just three successive steps, the
yield of the desired final product is
51%. And so it is with three successive
and connected suppositions (each with
a good probability of 0.8)
when strung together (i.e. 0.8
x 0.8 x 0.8 = 0.512) the conclusion is
about as good as that of a coin-toss (0.5).
In a different vein, but also relevant
here, the late Bill Ober joked that the
plural of anecdote is data.
Those who find this volume as a first
encounter with Descartes will discover
much of interest and particularly enjoy
the sections on his patrons, correspondents,
and critics; his only (and illegitimate)
child; and the period in Sweden. However,
rather than embracing Graylings
Jesuit-spy-at-large working hypothesis,
I believe that many readers will join
me in wondering whether Descartes secrecy,
his paradoxical religious commitments,
and the early reluctance to put everything
in print, were mainly driven by a fear
of another Galileo affair. The author
admits to only offering hints on the science,
has written for a general audience, and
will not attract a great deal of applause
from Descartes aficionados.
The assembled notes for each chapter start
on page 263 and include some items that
might better have appeared as footnotes.
For example (with reference to the year
1629 and the continuing Thirty Years War)
note 1 for chapter 6 begins, "Descartes
played no further part in the war in the
way hypothesized here that is,
as an intelligence operative; I [Grayling]
make this claim because, continuing with
reliance on circumstantial evidence as
before, I see neither cause nor opportunity
for him to do so, but on the contrary
so much concentration on his scientific
and philosophical work . . . that it becomes
quite implausible to think that he was
continuing intelligence work, for the
Jesuits or anyone else, in his new circumstances.
. . ." and ends a full page later,
" Still: from this point on in his
[Descartes] story the hypothesis
plays no further role."
The front image on the dust jacket is
described as "Portrait, presumed
to be René Descartes,"
oil on canvas, by Sébastien Bourdon
(1616-1671). That selection says something
about either the authors or the
jacket designers pluck in offering
something new. [We note that the accomplished
Bourdon also painted a portrait of Queen
Christina of Sweden, but it is not reproduced
in this book.] Overall, this hardback
is handsome, printed on good quality paper,
and includes an interesting selection
of 38 illustrations on 8 pages ganged
after page 144 of the text. The volume
is rounded out with a "select bibliography"
of 4 compilations of Descartes works
and 70 biographical and general references.
There are 11 pages of index, with name
and subject combined. One appendix contains
a note on Descartes philosophy,
and a second is a short discourse on biographies
of philosophers with a justification by
Grayling for his personal approach.
Anthony C. Grayling is a Professor at
Birbeck College, University of London.
He has written several books; the Library
of Congress online catalog lists 18 items
of biography and philosophy ranging from
"Wittgenstein" (1988) to "Among
the dead cities: the history and moral
legacy of WWII bombing of civilians in
Germany and Japan" (2006).