Rene Descartes

Descartes’ Bones: A Skeletal History of the Conflict Between Faith and Reason

Guest: Russell Shorto.

Today on Focus, we're joined by New York Times writer Russell Shorto to give a bare-bones history lesson. Sixteen years after René Descartes' death in 1650, his remains were exhumed and transported back to France. But over the next 350 years, they would travel all over Europe, experiencing some of the most momentous events in history: the rise of democracy, the birth of science, and the beginnings of debates between faith and reason.

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