E. M. Curley is known for his skill at lucid exposition and cogen analysis of seventeenth-century philosophy. In this book he turns to Descartes, who remains a central figure in the Western philosophical tradition. While dealing with most of Descartes' seminal contributions, he concentrates on the issues that pose special problems for modern students: the dream argument, knowledge of one's own existence and mental states, the circle, the arguments for God's existence, and the claim that mind and body are distinct.