philosophical works of Descartes' which were originally intended for publication. More than one valuable translation of the treatises which give a general view of Descartes system has already appeared. But certain others which are quite indispensable for a thorough comprehension of his views have not yet been made accessible to English readers. The chief of these are probably the "Rules for the Direction of the Understanding" and the "Passions of the Soul." As a matter of fact the "Passions of the Soul" was actually translated into English by an anonymous writer in the year 1650, but this translation is now exceedingly rare, and no other has appeared until the present time. In the "Passions" we find the full exposition of Descartes' theory that mental and physiological phenomena may be explained by simple mechanical processes. It was a completely new departure to state that such matters were capable of being interpreted thus, and one that has had a fundamental influence on the psychology and physiology of the present time.About the PublisherForgotten Books publishes hundreds of thousands of rare and classic books. Find more at www.forgottenbooks.comThis book is a reproduction of an important historical work. Forgotten Books uses state-of-the-art technology to digitally reconstruct the work, preserving the original format whilst repairing imperfections present in the aged copy. In rare cases, an imperfection in the original, such as a blemish or missing page, may be replicated in our edition. We do, however, repair the vast majority of imperfections successfully; any imperfections that remain are intentionally left to preserve the state of such historical works.

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