When Descartes died in Sweden in 1650, his body and his skull went to different places - the latter winding up at the Musée de l’Homme in central Paris. (His fingers were reportedly "taken for posterity" and his bones "for jewelry.")
Now an effort is underway to move his skull to the church at a Jesuit school, which is claimed to be more suitable than "its current home alongside prehistoric man and a moulding of the head of footballer Lilian Thuram."
Others dispute whether the displayed skull is really his, arguing that there are four skulls that could theoretically be his real one.
What does Descartes think of this? Well of course, he's dead, so he doesn't think. So therefore... he isn't.
Somehow I can't think he'd be happier in a religious setting.
ReplyDeleteIf you have some time, you should get interested in Voltaire's remains after it's death. For someone challenging satholicism the way he had, it's nice to see his body was treated like relics.
ReplyDeleteTitam, I just looked up the story, and it is interesting. I've added "Voltaire's body after death" to my (long...) list of "things to blog in TYWKIWDBI."
ReplyDeleteThanks for the "heads up."
stan