Demons, Dreamers, and Madmen: The Defense of Reason in Descartes's Meditations

Harry G. Frankfurt (Princeton University Press)
Frankfurt provides an analysis to the question that lies at the heart of Descartes’s Meditations: On what basis can reason claim to provide any justification for the truth of our beliefs? Frankfurt explores Descartes’s defense of reason against his own doubts that he might be a madman. Harry G. Frankfurt is a professor of philosophy emeritus at Princeton University.

Paw in print

Image
The October 2025 cover of PAW, featuring an illustration of a woman dressed like Superman, but the S on her chest is a dollar sign.
The Latest Issue

October 2025

Philanthropist MacKenzie Scott ’92; President Eisgruber ’83 defends higher ed; Julia Ioffe ’05 explains Russia.