Principles of Philosophy (Descartes)

Principles of Philosophy (Principia philosophiae) was written in Latin by René Descartes 1644 as a textbook of philosophy and what we now call science. Descartes hoped to replace the Aristotelian philosophy of the Scholastics at universities.

A French translation, Principes de philosophie, was prepared by Claude Picot, under the supervision of Descartes, and appeared in 1647 with a letter-preface to Queen Christina of Sweden.

The Principles is divided into four parts:

1. The principles of the human knowledge
2. The principles of the material things
3. An objective study of the composition of the universe
4. A study of the structure of the land.