Sekai Ron / Original Title: Le Monde Ou Traite De La Lumiere (Chiku Ma Gakugei Bunko)

[Machine Translation] Descartes pioneered modern philosophy. While various branches of natural philosophy served as the starting point for his philosophy, *Discourse on the World (Discourse on the World, or Discourse on Light)* is an early work that provides an overview of his entire philosophy. In response to the question, What is the world made of?" he arrives at the famous answer: It is made of particles." However, just as publication was imminent, the Galileo affair in which Galileo had advocated the heliocentric theory occurred, and Descartes, fearing condemnation, abandoned the plan to publish. This book was never published during his lifetime. This volume presents a new translation with detailed annotations, supplemented by a comprehensive collection of source materials including letters to Mersenne and accompanied by clear commentary, offering a comprehensive overview of Descartes s thought.

近代哲学を切り拓いたデカルト。彼の哲学の起点となったのは様々な自然学であったが、『世界論(世界論あるいは光論)』はその全体像がわかる初期作である。「この世界は何によって出来ているのか」という問いに対して、「それは微粒子である」という有名な答えが導き出される。しかし出版の目前にして、地動説を唱えたガリレイの事件が起こり、断罪を恐れたデカルトは刊行を断念。この本が生前刊行されることはなかった。本書はその新訳に詳細な註を加え、メルセンヌ宛書簡などの資料を完備の上で明快な解説を付し、デカルト思想の全貌に迫るものである。