Descartes's Secret Notebook: A True Tale of Mathematics, Mysticism, and the Quest to Understand the Universe

Amir D. Aczel

Crown, Feb 19, 2009 - Philosophy - 288 pages

René Descartes (1596—1650) is one of the towering and central figures in Western philosophy and mathematics. His apothegm “Cogito, ergo sum” marked the birth of the mind-body problem, while his creation of so-called Cartesian coordinates has made our intellectual conquest of physical space possible.

But Descartes had a mysterious and mystical side, as well. Almost certainly a member of the occult brotherhood of the Rosicrucians, he kept a secret notebook, now lost, most of which was written in code. After Descartes’s death, Gottfried Leibniz, inventor of calculus and one of the greatest mathematicians of all time, moved to Paris in search of this notebook–and eventually found it in the possession of Claude Clerselier, a friend of Descartes’s. Liebniz called on Clerselier and was allowed to copy only a couple of pages–which, though written in code, he amazingly deciphered there on the spot. Liebniz’s hastily scribbled notes are all we have today of Descartes’s notebook.

Why did Descartes keep a secret notebook, and what were its contents? The answers to these questions will lead the reader on an exciting, swashbuckling journey, and offer a fascinating look at one of the great figures of Western culture.

Contents

• Introduction: 1
• Leibnizs Search in Paris: 10
• The Gardens of Touraine: 17
• Jesuit Mathematics and the Pleasures of the Capital: 27
• The Dutch Puzzle: 41
• Three Dreams in an Oven by the Danube: 55
• The Athenians Are Vexed by a Persistent Ancient Plague: 64
• The Meeting with Faulhaber and the Battle of Prague: 72
• The Brotherhood: 82
• Swords at Sea and a Meeting in the Marais: 92
• Descartes and the Rosicrucians: 101
• Italian Creations: 113
• A Duel at Orléans and the Siege of La Rochelle: 122
• The Move to Holland and the Ghost of Galileo: 131
• A Secret Affair: 145
• Descartes Understands the Ancient Delian Mystery: 162
• The Intrigues of Utrecht: 174
• The Call of the Queen: 180
• The Mysterious Death of Descartes: 193
• Leibnizs Quest for Descartes Secret: 206
• Leibniz Breaks Descartes Code and Solves the Mystery: 222

About the author

AMIR D. ACZEL is the author of many research articles on mathematics, two textbooks, and nine nonfiction books, including the international bestseller Fermat's Last Theorem, which was nominated for a Los Angeles Times Book Award. Aczel has appeared on over thirty television programs, including nationwide appearances on CNN, CNBC, and Nightline, and on over a hundred radio programs, including NPR's Weekend Edition and Morning Edition. Aczel is a Fellow of the John Simon Guggenheim Memorial Foundation.

Bibliographic information

• Title: Descartes's Secret Notebook: A True Tale of Mathematics, Mysticism, and the Quest to Understand the Universe
• Author: Amir D. Aczel
• Publisher: Crown, 2009
• ISBN: 0307494802, 9780307494801
• Length: 288 pages
• Subjects: Biography & Autobiography / Philosophers; Mathematics / History & Philosophy; Philosophy / Individual Philosophers