A recepção dos ensaios cartesianos e algumas críticas à hipótese da matéria sutil

After the publication of the Discourse on Method and its essays, Descartes began a campaign to publicize his work with the aim of introducing his ideas in the philosophical and academic field. His main interest was to obtain approval and recognition of the assumptions and the scientific explanations presented in Meteors and in Dioptric. This interest is also linked to his desire to see his essays discussed and taught in Jesuit colleges. In this paper I discuss the reception of some ideas contained in these essays, particularly among Jesuit scholars, and I analyze some of Morin’s criticisms of the subtle matter hypothesis.