I think, therefore I am Descartes

A review of "Dictionary of 17th century French philosophers" 

Most people associate 17th century French philosophy with Descartes. After leafing through this ridiculously large oeuvre, most people will *still* associate 17th century French philosophy with Descartes. The contents of this work (in two volumes in my library) proves that apart from M Cartesius, there simply wasn't much “philosophy” to write home about in the France of the really ancien régime. Most of the “philosophes” mentioned in this work are Jesuit padres or Jansenists. One, Jean de Labardie, seems to be some kind of fallen prophet. I admit, though, that they might be more interesting than the frivolous postmoderns at your favorite Parisian café…

I can't help share the following nugget. It seems that the work “L'Art de vivre heureux formé sur les idées les plus claires de la raisonet du sens commun, et sur de trés belles maximes de M d 'Escartes” (1667), although written by Nicolas Binet, was long attributed to Claude Ameline, for no apparent reason.

Glad to had that sorted out, at least.

Now, considering Descartes…