In this major re-examination of Descartes s founding principle cogito ergo sum Murray Miles presents a portrait of Descartes as the Father of Modern Philosophy that is very different from the standard one. Viewing Descartes in both a historical and a systematic perspective Miles presents a wealth of original analyses arguments and re-interpretations of key texts. The result is a fresh and illuminating account of Descartes s metaphysical project and theory of the mind. Descartes s achievement is a radical reversal of the order of knowing a subjectivism that places knowledge of the mind ahead of knowledge of material things yet is free of the metaphysical idealism that some of his successors went on to embrace. A meticulous scholarly and exhaustive analysis this book provides a minutely detailed reading of each word of Descartes s founding principle exploring in great depth the underlying epistemology and ontology. The book will fully repay a careful reading by any serious student of Descartes s philosophy.