Virtue, beatitude and diseases: Elisabeth of Bohemia's objections to Cartesian morality

• Grant number: 23/00055-1
• Support Opportunities: Scholarships abroad - Research Internship - Doctorate
• Start date: March 01, 2024
• End date: February 23, 2025
• Field of knowledge: Humanities - Philosophy - History of Philosophy
• Principal Investigator: Tessa Moura Lacerda
• Grantee: Rafael Teruel Coelho
• Supervisor: Paul Rateau
• Host Institution: Faculdade de Filosofia, Letras e Ciências Humanas (FFLCH). Universidade de São Paulo (USP). São Paulo , SP, Brazil
• Institution abroad: Université Paris 1 Panthéon-Sorbonne, France
• Associated to the scholarship: 21/14838-2 - The soul in Elisabeth from Bohemia: a critique of Cartesian dualism, BP.DR

Abstract

The main objective of this research is to analyze the relevance of Elisabeth da Bohemia's criticisms of the Cartesian notions of virtue and beatitude, concepts that are inserted in the context of Descartes' morals. Therefore, our investigation will be divided into three main moments: I) understanding the importance of the concept of virtue in the Cartesian moral scenario; II) investigate the relationships between the performance of virtuous actions and beatitude; III) to analyze the nature and relevance of Elisabeth of Bohemia's criticisms of these notions, especially with regard to diseases that, preventing the soul from reasoning correctly, prevent us from making correct choices (among our best judgments) and, consequently, to perform virtuous actions. From this perspective, we intend to highlight the role of the princess's objections to the formulation of Descartes' morality, showing that, far beyond apparently simple criticisms, such objections reveal ontological positions different from those of Descartes that were fully assumed by Elisabeth, especially with regard to the nature of the soul and its relation to the body. (AU)