Category Archives: René Descartes

Alexandre Koyré’s Wartime Teaching at the École Libre des Hautes Études and the New School

Posted on March 9, 2025 by stuartelden

In 1940, Alexandre Koyré was persuaded by Charles de Gaulle’s government in exile that he could make his most useful contribution to the French war effort by moving to New York and acting as secretary general of the planned École … Continue reading →

Posted in Alexandre Koyré, Hannah Arendt, René Descartes, Roman Jakobson, Sunday Histories, Uncategorized | 5 Comments

Koyré in Cairo

Posted on September 20, 2024 by stuartelden

Update May 2025: A revised and expanded version of this post is here, as part of the ‘Sunday Histories’ series. There are many things I find interesting in the life and work of Alexandre Koyré, and I’ve already published on … Continue reading →

Posted in Alexandre Kojève, Alexandre Koyré, Georg Wilhelm Friedrich Hegel, Georges Canguilhem, Martin Heidegger, René Descartes, Uncategorized | 7 Comments

Foucault before the Collège de France – theme issue of Theory, Culture & Society, now published

Posted on March 26, 2023 by stuartelden

‘Foucault before the Collège de France’ – theme issue of Theory, Culture & Society, coming soon, edited by Stuart Elden, Orazio Irrera and Daniele Lorenzini [Update: the whole issue is now online here] Some of the papers are available online … Continue reading →

Posted in Friedrich Nietzsche, Ludwig Binswanger, Michel Foucault, Pierre Macherey, René Descartes | Leave a comment

The Archaeology of Foucault update 11: A new term, work on Nietzsche and planning another archive trip

Posted on October 29, 2021 by stuartelden

While the start of term was as busy as ever, I have managed to keep a bit of time each week to work on this project. So far at least this term seems more manageable than the equivalent last year, and … Continue reading →

Posted in Friedrich Nietzsche, Michel Foucault, Pierre Klossowski, René Descartes, The Archaeology of Foucault, The Early Foucault | 2 Comments

Daniele Lorenzini on Foucault and Descartes (open access and video abstract) – part of Theory, Culture & Society Special Issue: ‘Foucault Before the Collège de France’

Posted on January 15, 2021 by stuartelden

Daniele Lorenzini’s article “Philosophical Discourse and Ascetic Practice: On Foucault’s Readings of Descartes’ Meditations” is now available open access. The article is part of a Theory, Culture & Society Special Issue: ‘Foucault Before the Collège de France’ which I’m co-editing with … Continue reading →

Posted in Michel Foucault, René Descartes | 3 Comments

Reading the Classics of Western Philosophy

Posted on October 9, 2012 by stuartelden

List below and survey here. The queston asked is how many of these have you read. And the whole of these books, not some, not an abbreviated form. I’m claiming 18 of these, and bits, sometimes substantial, of others. Never read any Sidgwick, Moore, … Continue reading →

Posted in Baruch Spinoza, Books, Friedrich Nietzsche, Georg Wilhelm Friedrich Hegel, Graham Harman, Jean Jacques Rousseau, Jean-Paul Sartre, John Locke, Karl Marx, Martin Heidegger, René Descartes, Thomas Hobbes, Uncategorized | 6 Comments

Chapter Nine

Posted on December 1, 2010 by stuartelden

Chapter Nine is now done. This is the last chapter of the book, which means I’ve now worked through all the chapters in the revision I’ve done while in Seattle. I leave tomorrow. I’ve posted quite a bit about this … Continue reading →

Posted in Andreas Knichen, Bogislaw Philipp von Chemnitz, George Lawson, Gottfried Leibniz, Henri de Boulainviller, Isaac Newton, James Harrington, Johannes Althusius, John Locke, Matthias Stephani, Nicholas of Cusa, René Descartes, Robert Filmer, Samuel Pufendorf, The Birth of Territory, Theodor Reinking, Thomas Hobbes, Udalricus Zasius, Walter Ralegh | 1 Comment