At the time of year when skulls and skeletons get their due, Russell Shorto's new book, "Descartes' Bones: A Skeletal History of the Conflict Between Faith and Reason," seems to have good timing. But any links to Halloween or the Day of the Dead are, admittedly, nonexistent.

Nonetheless, true to its title, the philosopher's bones are central to Shorto's saga. And for Rene Descartes (1596-1650), one of the inventors of modern secular culture as we still know it, it's somehow fitting that his skull was separated from the rest of his skeleton about 16 years after his death. Much of Descartes' fame hinges, after all, on his 1637 essay "Discourse on the Method," with the words "I think, therefore I am" — the essay that set up the split between mind and body, which has been central to Western culture ever since.

Thinking back to the 16th and 17th centuries, probably only a few passages from Shakespeare rival it for lasting familiarity. So, you can see why someone might want to make off with Descartes' skull. It was an emblem of celebrity. (The culprit was the head of the unit who was supposed to be guarding the philosopher's bones.)

Shorto, a journalist and historian, has a gift for explaining Descartes' ideas, the rise of Cartesian followers in the 17th century and the conflicts between faith and reason, which Descartes helped to set into motion.

One of the book's revealing themes is showing how this conflict became a three-way affair: between traditionalists, who believed rational thought and scientific discoveries were a threat to religious authority; radical rationalists, who felt that the logical conclusion of Descartes' insights would be the end of religion; and moderate secular thinkers, who thought rational and religious thinking could coexist.

As Shorto writes, the contours of the conflict remain the same. And Descartes' skull? Its history and the history of Western culture were intertwined all along, uncannily. This book is the story of both.

To find out more about Robert L. Pincus and read features by other Creators Syndicate writers and cartoonists, visit the Creators Syndicate website at www.creators.com.

COPYRIGHT 2008 CREATORS SYNDICATE INC.