Defensio Cartesiana

work by Clauberg

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June 25, 2026

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Defensio Cartesiana (1652) was a work by Johann Clauberg, a philosopher and theologian who was the leading German proponent of René Descartes's philosophy. Clauberg used the Cartesian method to pursue knowledge and defended it against critics like Jacobus Revius. This work is part of Clauberg's broader efforts to explain and promote Cartesianism in Germany and the Netherlands. Cartesianism, derived from Descartes's writings, is a philosophical tradition emphasizing reason and innate ideas, contrasting with empiricism. It posits a dualism of mind and matter, with God as an infinite substance uniting them in humans. Clauberg's work contributed to the understanding of key Cartesian concepts like the relationship between body and soul, and the existence of God.1234

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Johann Clauberg
…of pursuing knowledge in his Defensio Cartesiana (1652). He sought again to refute Revius in his Initiatio Philosophi (1655). In Exercitationes Centum de Cognitione Dei et Nostri (1656; “One Hundred Exercises on the Knowledge of God and Ourselves”), he proceeded from his proof for the existence of God based on…
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…of pursuing knowledge in his Defensio Cartesiana (1652). He sought again to refute Revius in his Initiatio Philosophi (1655). In Exercitationes Centum de Cognitione Dei et Nostri (1656; “One Hundred Exercises on the Knowledge of God and Ourselves”), he proceeded from his proof for the existence of God based on…
Read More