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

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 reason and faith.

Guest: Russell Shorto (Director of the John Adams Institute in Amsterdam; contributing writer at the New York Times; author of Descartes' Bones: A Skeletal History of the Conflict between Faith and Reason)