I think, therefore I am (COGITO, ERGO SUM)

We have all undoubtably heard of this famous quote in some iteration. It could be said that it is the most famous quote in philosophy. For the final day of Classics Week, I will discuss Discourse on the Method, written by none other than Rene Descartes. This short read is a fascinating book, not only from a philosophical standpoint but also a historical one. This is because it was written in a time full of religious conflicts and the rise of the Scientific Revolution. You can read more about the context of this piece here.

I genuinely live for books and ideas such as this. Descartes covers many topics through six sections. In the first, he introduces the premise that reason is naturally equal and truth is to be found through a systematic way. In the second section, he attempts to rebuild the very foundations upon which ideas are formed. He undermines everything that the system stands for, by refusing to accept it as true unless there is evidence to believe so. As a mathematician, he constructs his arguments based on few truths, building outwards like a math proof. For instance, he claims that the world could not exist in front of us, because human senses can deceive. However, he is conscious, meaning he must exist in some sense. His attitude towards concepts, doubting himself, and building arguments is truly mesmerizing.

In the second half of the book, he builds off of his first unquestionable idea that he exists because he is conscious. He then tries to build a proof for the existence of God, using the idea of perfect concepts. Furthermore, he discusses the idea of human and animal souls, and his thought on experimentation. While the final two sections are of less interest to me, the first four truly blew my mind.

Reading a good book often feels like having a conversation with the author. It is simply amazing that through archives and history we as readers are able to dig into the minds of some of the greatest minds of past centuries. This book to many is the cornerstone of modern philosophy and a shift in the way society conceived information, making it one I think everyone should check out.

This marks the end of Classics Week. I’m going to take a long break to just read the massive backlog of books I have been meaning to read. Please let me know what you thought of this week (or my page in general).