Table of Contents

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: 1642–1646.- 10.2 “Excommunication” of Regius, 1647–1648.- 10.3 Regius’ Heresy — Mind as Mode.- 10.4 In Defence of Mind-Body Union.- 10.5 Regius Unmoved.-Conclusion.

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