Lines of Thought

This work explores the intricate relationship between Descartes's ideas and modern philosophy. Lines of Thought examines discourse, intuition, and the role of graphic representation.

It is often stated that modern philosophy finds its roots in Descartes, yet defining the essence of modernity and philosophy that he initiated proves to be quite complex. In Lines of Thought, Claudia Brodsky Lacour delves into the intricate relationship between discourse and writing within Cartesian methodology and intuition. She emphasizes the importance of graphic architectonic form in tracing the lineage of modern philosophical thought.

Brodsky Lacour argues that while Cartesianism is frequently equated with rationalism, the nuances of Descartes's method and his famous cogito concept resist straightforward rational analysis. Furthermore, the modern phenomenological approaches that derive from Descartes's idea of intuition often clash with the representation of 'things' within Cartesian thought. By revisiting Descartes's foundational ideas as articulated in the Discours, she uncovers the conceptual challenges inherent in his literary and aesthetic theories, as well as his epistemology.

The crux of Brodsky Lacour's analysis lies in the intersection of discourse and drawing, where the Cartesian subject of thought emerges. She posits that the cogito serves as a theoretical bridge linking philosophy to discursive representation and graphic delineation following Descartes. The book also connects these themes to the works of Claude Perrault, an architectural theorist whose insights contributed to the seventeenth-century debate between 'the ancients and the moderns.' Lines of Thought is an essential read for those interested in the origins of modernity across literature, architecture, art, and philosophy.