Gaukroger’s Descartes’ System of Natural Philosophy: A Few Dilemmas of Descartes’s Physics

Starting from Gaukroger’s monograph, Descartes’ System of Natural Philosophy, in this chapter I deal with four dilemmas that arise in Descartes’s natural philosophy from the differences between the early physics of Le Monde and the Principia philosophiae. These dilemmas concern the definition of physics, the role of metaphysics, the role of experimentation and particular bodies, and living beings, ultimately showing—once more—the importance of Gaukroger’s work in paving the way to renew studies on Descartes’s philosophical programme.