Medicine in the Philosophy of Descartes:
Lights and Shadows
Fabrizio Baldassarri defended a PhD thesis in Descartes’ naturalistic studies in 2013, especially focusing on a Cartesian natural history embedded within his natural philosophy. He has recently been aiming attention at Descartes’ botanical studies as they emerged in Descartes’ correspondence and in his under-studied manuscripts. Additionally, Baldassarri’s thread of research are directed towards (1.) the comprehension of the relationship method-experimentation in Descartes; (2.) the understanding of Descartes’ theory of matter; (3.) the redefinition of Descartes’ sciences of life and of a few aspects of his medicine, physiology and therapeutics. Baldassarri has published on all these subjects, and he is now looking at the relationships Descartes’ had with his scientific studies.