"Cogito ergo sum", translates to "I think, therefore I am" in English, is a famous quote written by René Descartes. This proposition is a fundamental element in Western philosophy, as it is presupposed by all knowledge. Descartes' original phrase, je pense, donc je suis, which is first written in his Discourse on the Method. The argument is well-known in English as "the cogito". This proposition doubts the existence of the world. As Descartes' Mediation explains: .
I have convinced myself that there is absolutely nothing in the world, no sky, no earth, no minds, no bodies. Does it now follow that I too do not exist? No: if I convinced myself of something then I certainly existed. But there is a deceiver of supreme power and cunning who is deliberately and constantly deceiving me. In that case I too undoubtedly exist, if he is deceiving me; and let him deceive me as much as he can, he will never bring it about that I am nothing so long as I think that I am something. So after considering everything very thoroughly, I must finally conclude that this proposition, I am, I exist, is necessarily true whenever it is put forward by me or conceived in my mind. (Mediation. 2, Oeuvres de Descartes 7:25).
Descartes explains his proposition very well in the quote above. However, "Cogito ergo sum" raises a lot of questions over the course of thousands of years, different people have different understandings of the cogito. Here raises the question: What is the right interpretation of "Cogito ergo sum"? Therefore, in order to truly understand this proposition, there are a few points that need to be clarified. First of all, "Cogito ergo sum" has to be in first-person. On the other hand, if the sentence is written in third-person, such as "Tony thinks", the cogito will not be true. Writing in third-person has already proved the existence of first-person, therefore, the third-person's existence is questionable.
"Cogito Ergo Sum" "Then the Lord God formed man of the dust from the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and man became a living being" (Genesis 2:7). ... I agree with the statement "cogito ergo sum," or I think therefore I am. ...
Descartes" "Cogito Ergo Sum" (I am, I exist) argument is a complex one. In many ways, he constructs a convincing argument for the existence of the self, and for the process of the thinking being, the essence of that self. In this meditation on his philosophy, Descartes on numerous attempts tries t...
Descartes Meditations Descartes' Cogito Ergo Sum(I am, I exist) argument is a complex one. In many ways, he constructs a convincing argument for the existence of the self, and for the process of the thinking being, the essence of that self. In this meditation on his philosophy, Descartes on numerous...
My pervious paper tells of a man in search of himself. It can be said that Descartes is the same as the unnamed man in Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance. Both men are always searching for answers and looking around. He was a man in search of himself, a man not willing to follow the human r...
My pervious paper tells of a man in search of himself. It can be said that Descartes is the same as the unnamed man in Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance. Both men are always searching for answers and looking around. He was a man in search of himself, a man not willing to follow the human r...
My pervious paper tells of a man in search of himself. It can be said that Descartes is the same as the unnamed man in Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance. Both men are always searching for answers and looking around. He was a man in search of himself, a man not willing to follow the human r...
Postmodern Poetics Postmodern literally refers to the period after twentieth century modernism involving "complex understandings of language, philosophical thought, human subjectivity and political theory."" Modernism often carries the slogan "make it new- while postmodernism is marked by "...
I will also show how Descartes subjected to doubt, all that could be possibly doubted, and arrived at the indubitable proposition: Cogito ergo sum, or I think, therefore I am. ... The point here is that it is impossible to doubt the truth of this proposition, therefore for Descartes the entire context of human knowledge consists upon this single proposition: "Cogito ergo sum", or, I think therefore I am. ... It becomes clear that the foundation of knowledge for Descartes is not just the certainty "Cogito ergo sum" I think therefore I am. ...
I will also show how Descartes subjected to doubt, all that could be possibly doubted, and arrived at the indubitable proposition: Cogito ergo sum, or I think, therefore I am. ... The point here is that it is impossible to doubt the truth of this proposition, therefore for Descartes the entire context of human knowledge consists upon this single proposition: "Cogito ergo sum", or, I think therefore I am. ... It becomes clear that the foundation of knowledge for Descartes is not just the certainty "Cogito ergo sum" I think therefore I am. ...