The earthly remains of René Descartes have been disinterred several times since his death in 1650, and with each disturbance, some of his bones vanished into the hands of venerators. The irony of the material legacy of the philosopher of reason being regarded similarly to the relics of saints is not lost on Shorto, who pairs a detective narrative with his thoughts about what the story reveals about skepticism versus belief as features of modernity. As Shorto relates, uncertainty about the authenticity of the contents of Descartes’ coffin accompanied its travels from Stockholm to Paris in 1666, culminating––when a skull purportedly that of Descartes surfaced in 1821––in an inquest conducted by the French Academy of Sciences. After describing subsequent attempts to fix the provenance of Descartes’ remains, Shorto tenders his speculation that they were lost in the turmoil of the French Revolution. Giving rein to his curiosity about the postmortem Descartes, Shorto will pull in readers who enjoy a good history mystery seasoned with philosophical thoughts.

蕭拉瑟(Russell Shorto)，美國曆史學傢和作傢。1959年齣生於賓夕法尼亞州，1981年喬治華盛頓大學研究生畢業，是《紐約時報雜誌》專欄作傢。除瞭《笛卡爾的骨頭》廣受好評之外，他也以《世界中心的島嶼》一書齣名，該書論及紐約市的荷蘭起源。他也因加強荷蘭與美國的關係而在2009年獲得荷蘭騎士勛章。