Search results
17th-century philosopher Descartes’ exultant declaration — “I think, therefore I am” — is his defining philosophical statement. This article explores its meaning, significance, and how it altered the course of philosophy forever.
In the Meditations, Descartes phrases the conclusion of the argument as "that the proposition, I am, I exist, is necessarily true whenever it is put forward by me or conceived in my mind" (Meditation II).
26 lis 2018 · 4. Conclusion: Knowledge without Certainty. Descartes was impressed by the Cogito because he had found a belief that is certain and so, when believed, cannot be false. He thought that certainty was necessary for a belief to be known.
The most serious debate about formulation concerns inference. Versions of the cogito appear in each of Descartes’ three main published philosophical works. The “canonical” formulation (as I shall call it) includes an explicit inference – “I am thinking, therefore [ergo] I exist.”.
3 gru 1997 · Edwin Curley helpfully notes that Descartes “consistently blurs the distinction between inferences and propositions by referring to the whole formula ‘I think, therefore I am’ as a truth, a first principle, a proposition, and a conclusion” (1978, 79).
3 gru 2008 · As mentioned in Section 3.1, Descartes held that any act of judgment, such as the affirmation “I think, therefore I am,” involves both the intellect and will. The intellect perceives or represents the content of the judgment; the will affirms or denies that content.
4 paź 2023 · In conclusion, Descartes’ Cogito, “I think, therefore I am,” is a philosophical jewel that highlights the certainty of one’s existence through the act of thinking.
