Descartes’s Mathematical Thought

Introduction: René Descartes and Modern European Mathematics.- 1: The Formation of Descartes’s Mathematical Thought.- 1 Descartes and Jesuit Mathematical Education.- 2 The Mathematical Thought of Christoph Clavius.- 3 The First Attempt at Reforming Mathematics.- 4 The Mathematical Background of the Regulae ad Directionem Ingenii.- 5 The Géométrie of 1637.- Interim Consideration: Descartes and the Beginnings of Mathematicism in Modern Thought.- II: The Concept of ‘Mathesis Universalis’ In Historical Perspective.- 6 ‘Universal Mathematics’ in Aristotle.- 7 ‘Mathesis Universalis’ in the Sixteenth Century.- 8 ‘Mathesis Universalis’ in the Seventeenth Century.- Conclusion: Descartes and the Modern Scheme of Learning.- Indices.- Name Index.- Treatise Index.