The comedy tells the story of the journey of a character who is at one and the same time both Dante himself and everyman. In the inferno, Dante’s protagonist – and his reader – is presented with a graphic vision of the dreadful consequences of sin, and encounters an all-too-human array of noble, grotesque, beguiling, ridiculous and horrific characters.

Rene Descartes (1569-1650), the ‘father’ of modern philosophy, is without doubt one of the greatest thinkers in history: his genius lies at the core of our contemporary intellectual identity. Breaking with the conventions of his own time and suffering persecution by the church as a consequence, Descartes in his writings – most of which are philosophical classics – attempted to answer the central questions surrounding the self, God, free-will and knowledge, using the science of thought as oppsed to received wisdom based on the tenets of faith. The edition, the most comprehensive one-volume selection of Descartes’ works available in English, includeshis great essay, Discourse on Method.