A concepção cartesiana da liberdade nos Princípios da Filosofia

The aim of this article is offering a solution to two different problems in the Cartesian theory of freedom, both of which are developed in the Philosophical Principles. The first of them deals with the contrast between the Latin and the French version of the Principles regarding the concept of Freedom. The second refers to the controversy in the secondary literature in which the Cartesian theory of freedom developed in the Principles would be different from that exposed in the Metaphysical Meditations. Behind this question is the classic problem of correlating what seem to be two distinct concepts of freedom: freedom as freewill and freedom as spontaneity. With this in mind, we will also try to respond precisely how the relationship between these two concepts of freedom exposed in the Principles should be understood.