Was Descartes a Cartesian dualist? In this controversial study, Gordon Baker and Katherine J. Morris argue that, despite a textbook consensus within philosophy, Descartes was not a dualist nor is he guilty of the many philosophical crimes 20th-century philosophers have foisted upon him. Contemporary philosophy has made Descartes into everyone's anti-hero, whose vices range from being unscientific through licensing cruelty to animals to a commitment to a private language. Baker and Morris argue that such a role has been manufactured largely to fulfil 20th century intellectual needs.