Ex istence and Being Sou rce: Ex istence and Being from Ex istentialism from Dostoy ev sky to Sartre edited by Walter Kaufman published in full
Descartes, writing to Picot, who translated the Principia Philosophiae into French, observed: "Thus the whole of philosophy is like a tree: the roots are metaphysics, the trunk is physics, and the branches that issue from the trunk are all the other sciences
" Sticking to this image, we ask: In what soil do the roots of the tree of philosophy have their hold
Out of what ground do the roots-and through them the whole tree-receive their nourishing juices and strength
What element, concealed in the ground, enters and lives in the roots that support and nourish the tree
What is the basis and element of metaphysics
What is metaphysics, viewed