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The most notable objection Descartes would end up facing would be the more mathematically precise and more explanatorily powerful physical theory given by Newton half a century later, but there existed objection to Descartes even earlier. One particularly notable objection came from Princess Elizabeth of Bohemia, who questioned Descartes’ theory of substance in a letter dated the tenth of May, 1643. In it, she asks “Given that the soul of a human being is only a thinking substance, how can it affect the bodily spirits, in order to bring about voluntary actions?”[[CiteRef::Descartes (2009)]] Descartes would never gives a satisfactory answer over the course of the correspondence, and the single example highlights how troubling the issues left open by Descartes’ system are for the integrity of that system. Elizabeth’s objection raises reasonable (significant, even) doubts about whether or not the theory of substance around which Descartes bases a significant portion of his scientific theories can hold water.
One of the most powerful objections to arise after Descartes’ death in 1650 came a generation later with the emergence of the philosophy of John Locke and the British Empiricists. Locke, despite being an admirer of Descartes, was highly critical of his methodology and in particular was critical of his methodological scepticism, which Locke regarded as a non-starter.[[CiteRef::Uzglais Uzgalis (2016)]]
Other objections were political, theological, and personal objections brought by various interest groups who had some stake in the academic status quo. In many places Descartes’ work was banned, in more even discussion of Descartes’ work was banned. Official condemnations came down from Universities and Church authorities, none of which were effective at stopping the spread of Cartesian ideas.[[CiteRef::Jolley (1992)]]
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