The author's aim of providing an understanding of the development, content and presentation of two aspects of Descartes' philosophy of the human soul - immortality and body-soul union - has been achieved and executed with rigour, scholarship and philosophical acuity. Fowler combines close textual analysis with a consideration of the philosophical arguments and the theological background against which these arguments were developed. This contextual approach enables him to provide new insights into the nature of Descartes' philosophy, and indeed of early modern philosophy more generally. Despite the massive scholarly documentation, this finely structured and clearly written study is eminently readable. The work is a significant contribution to the world of Cartesian scholarship which professors and graduate students of Descartes, as well as the world's libraries, must have.

Inhalt
1: Immortality and the Meditationes.- 1.1 Liber Prohibitus.- 1.2 Subtle Apologetic Claim: Letter of Dedication.- 1.3 Bold Apologetic Claim: Title of 1641 Edition.- 2: Descartes on Immortality Prior to 1640.- 3: Scholasticism and Immortality.- 3.1 Descartes and the Contemporary Debate.- 3.2 Aristotelianism's Difficulties in Proving Immortality.- 3.3 Solutions to the Major Difficulties.- 4: Between Beast and Angel.- 4.1 Animal-human Cousinage: Obstacle to Immortality.- 4.2 Animal Automatism.- 4.3 Mind and Angels.- 5: From Soul to Mind Descartes' Vocabulary.- 5.1 Meditationes.- 5.2 Objections and Replies.- 5.3 Texts Accompanying the Meditationes.- 6: What Constitutes a Demonstration of Immortality?.- 6.1 Mersenne's Expectations.- 6.2 Scholastic Approaches.- 6.3 Physical Proofs.- 6.4 Moral Proofs.- 7: The Synopsis and the Demonstration of Immortality.- 7.1 Origin and Impact of the Synopsis.- 7.2 Elements of Proof Found in the Meditationes.- 7.3 Elements of Proof Found in the Whole of Physics.- 7.4 Incorruptibility of Substance.- 7.5 Open Rejection of Substantial Form : Responsio (1642).- 7.6 The Contribution of Faith.- 8: The Human Mind is a Pure Substance.- 8.1 Interpretations of Substantia Pura.- 8.2 Descartes Cryptic ?.- 8.3 The Undisguised Meaning of Substantia Pura.- 8.4 A Controversial Legacy.- 9: Platonic Threat to Mind-Body Union.- 9.1 Arnauld's Warning.- 9.2 Regius' Gaffe ens per accidens.- 9.3 Descartes' Defence ens per se.- 9.4 Controversy Continued: Magistrates and Theologians.- 10: Descartes' Efforts to Secure Mind-Body Union.- 10.1 Descartes and Regius: 16421646.- 10.2 Excommunication of Regius, 16471648.- 10.3 Regius' Heresy Mind as Mode.- 10.4 In Defence of Mind-Body Union.- 10.5 Regius Unmoved.-Conclusion.