Watson, veteran professor of philosophy at Washington University in St. Louis, specializes in books of horse sense that reflect a lifelong study of the philosophical greats; titles include The Philosopher's Diet, The Philosopher's Joke
and The Philosopher's Demise. Watson's prose persona is the canny old uncle (or college lecturer), making distant and abstract history seem homey and accessible, yet with a light sense of humor that forestalls any potential charge of lowbrow philistinism. He here covers the diverse realms in which Descartes's thought takes place, from metaphysics to mathematics (where he invented analytic geometry), optics, medicine, physiology and psychology. The book is billed as the first since 1920 to contain original documentary research, as Watson combed libraries and European sites where Descartes lived. He typically relates Descartes's movements, such as going to Sweden to work for Queen Christina, with cracker-barrel philosophy: "Descartes was, I speculated, like a professor in the sticks, teaching at Podunk U., waiting for the fabled call from Harvard... But compared to the French court, Stockholm... was in the minor leagues—not Harvard—Ohio State maybe." In 13 chapters and a conclusion, with titles like "Descartes's Dog" and "Magic Kingdoms," the philosopher's story is recounted in readable prose, too folksy to be called academic, but not dumbed-down either. Readers with a passing interest will be satisfied and entertained. (May)
