I Think, Therefore I Am? Renee Descartes' Discourse on the Method
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In 1637, the French mathematician Renee Descartes published a little book entitled "Discourse on the Method of Rightly Conducting One's Reason and of Seeking Truth in the Sciences." This treatise would later be considered the starting point of what we now call "modern philosophy." What was so interesting about this book? And what the heck does the phrase "I think, therefore I am" mean?
In order to find a solid foundation for knowledge, Descartes used a method of extreme skepticism in which he tried to doubt everything he knew until he fell upon something he could not doubt. That single first principle we now call "the Cogito," or in full: Cogito, ergo sum. (I think, therefore I am)
To explain it simply: "At the very least, I can be absolutely sure I am thinking, and since I know I'm thinking, I know I exist."
In this meeting of the Syracuse Philosophy Club, we'll critically discuss Descartes' skeptical method and the various conclusions he drew. Some of the questions we'll consider include:
- What can we know for certain?
- Do we know that we exist?
- What is the nature of thought?
- What is the difference between mind and body?
The book is not too long as far as philosophy goes, here's one possible pdf you can find online:
https://dn760008.eu.archive.org/0/items/rmcg0001/Descartes-Discourse-a1.pdf
^^ Note: You only really need to read Chapter 4, the first few paragraphs.
Feel free to also watch any video on youtube about Descartes, there are plenty.
Happy Thinking!