PHILOSOPHY] - Lot 6

PHILOSOPHY] DESCARTES (René) Principia philosophiae, Amsterdam (Amstelodami), Elzevier (Ludovicum Elzevirium), 1644. An in-4 volume of (8) title and dedicatory epistle, (14) index, (2) and 310 pages, (2). Rare first edition of Descartes' Principles of Philosophy, a fundamental text in philosophy and the history of ideas, in which the philosopher develops a new metaphysics based on observation of the world, deduction and the cogito. This Cartesian study is divided into four parts: I. De Principiis cognitionis humanae. II. De Principiis rerum materialium. III. De Mundo adspectabili. IV. De Terra; and is illustrated with numerous technical and geometric figures on wood in the text. Loose leaf seams. Binding rubbed. Bookplate of E. Olivier (19th century). Pen-and-ink bookplate faded on title page.