Edinburgh University Press The Idea of the Instant in Descartes's Philosophy (Cycles)

Suggests that the simultaneity and discontinuity of the instant is the central idea in Descartes’s entire philosophy First English translation of a major and influential interpretation of Descartes’s philosophy First English translation of three essays on Wahl’s work by Frédéric Worms, his most important French interpreter Provides an original account of temporality that has influenced a variety of 20th -century French thinkers Contributes to the recent and increasing anglophone interest in the work of Jean Wahl Well-known to all serious Descartes scholars, this English translation will allow this work to be accessible to undergraduate and graduate students unable to read it in the original French Contributes to developing links between Wahl’s writings and those of Henri Bergson The Idea of the Instant in Descartes’s Philosophy is the first English translation of a major and influential interpretation of Descartes’s philosophy by one of the most influential figures in twentieth-century French philosophy. While discussing the role of the instant within Descartes’s philosophy, Jean Wahl develops an original account of temporality that is central to Wahl’s entire and extensive oeuvre and that has influenced a variety of 20th -century French thinkers, most notably Gilles Deleuze. In addition to including the original French text, the volume contains an introduction to Jean Wahl by Alan D. Schrift and English translations of three essays, one written exclusively for this book, by Frédéric Worms, Director of the École Normale Supérieure, Wahl’s most important French interpreter, and one of the most influential philosophers working in France today.