Wednesday 24 April 2024

Descartes, Confusion

 “You know your man Descartes?”
“I think, therefore I am?”
“That’s him. How could he get it so wrong?”
“What you mean?”
“It should be, “I am, therefore I think.” What does he imagine happens every time he stops thinking? He ceases to exist? Think about it: “I sleep, therefore I am not thinking. Therefore I am not. Therefore I don’t exist. Therefore I don’t sleep - because if I don’t exist, how can I do anything? Including sleep.
Whereas if I am, therefore I think, sleep, walk, whatever - that makes perfect sense.”
“He was a confused man.”
“And he was taken seriously.”
“There’s a lot of confusion out there.”

No comments: