On pages 56-59 of Histoire de la folie I said that dreams and madness have neither the same status nor the same role in the development of Cartesian doubt: dreams allow me to doubt this place where I am, this sheet of paper I see, this hand I hold out ; but madness is not an instrument or stage of doubt; for 7 who am thinking cannot be mad'. Madness is therefore excluded, contrary to the sceptical t radi t ion, which made it one of the reasons for doubting. To sum up Derrida's objection to this thesis, it is no doubt best to quote the passage where he gives most energetically his reading of Descartes.
No takes yet. Share an insight, caveat, or question.
Michel Foucault (1979) studied this question.
Synapse has enriched 5 related papers. Consider them for comparative context: