Playing with Descartes: Images and Mechanics in a Card Deck (London, 1697)

Cartesian Imagery is the first collection of essays entirely devoted to the role of images in Cartesian philosophy and science. Its seventeen chapters study a wealth of sources from the most disparate disciplines – from printed treatises on astronomy to anatomical sketches, from students’ notebooks to board games. The collection investigates how images shaped the development of Descartes’s ideas and their creative reception among supporters and detractors alike. It shows that this rich and complex process brought about new visual languages, with a long-lasting legacy. Lavishly illustrated with three-hundred figures, the collection opens up new perspectives on early modern intellectual history. Contributors are: Ilaria Ampollini, Delphine Bellis, Jip van Besouw, Erik-Jan Bos, Davide Cellamare, Maria Conforti, Fokko Jan Dijksterhuis, Mihnea Dobre, Gary Hatfield, Eric Jorink, Christoph Lüthy, Gideon Manning, Mattia Mantovani, Carla Rita Palmerino, Isabelle Pantin, David Rabouin, Christoph Sander, Luca Tonetti, and Wouter de Vries.