Rene Descartes - “I think, therefore I am”

“I think, therefore I am” This is Descartes' famous Cogito argument: Cogito Ergo Sum. This short animation explains how he came to this conclusion of certainty when surrounded by uncertainty and doubt.

Narrated by Stephen Fry. Scripted by Nigel Warburton.

This project is from the BBC in partnership with The Open University, the animations were created by Cognitive.

[sneadh]

The common story ignores the importance of DOUBT. The fuller quote is "I doubt therefore I think. I think therefore I am"

[elizabethnie]

I think therefore I am. Whatever I think about myself becomes my reality.

[TarunPothulapatiDev]

*I overthink, therefore I don't say stuff*

[NukaKawai]

And I began to hate... your softness, your viscera, your fluids, and your flexibility. And you five... you five are, and you will not die of it. That I promise. And I promise... cogito ergo sum; I think therefore I'M A.M., I AM.

[rudy]

This guy already knew we lived in a simulation before we even came up with it

[Wstreak]

There is power in simple logic. It's so powerful that it's overlooked.

[willieluncheonette]

Descartes has often been called the father of modern philosophy, and is largely seen as responsible for the increased attention given to epistemology. Descartes’s Meditations on First Philosophy (1641) continues to be a standard text at most university philosophy departments. It was the 17th-century arch-rationalists like Descartes, Spinoza and Leibniz who have given the “Age of Reason” its name and place in history. Leibniz, Spinoza and Descartes were all well-versed in mathematics as well as philosophy, and Descartes and Leibniz contributed greatly to science as well. Descartes was also one of the key figures in the Scientific Revolution.
“Descartes’ whole philosophy is based on the single statement, “I think, therefore I am.” But it is obviously very childish because you are not thinking constantly, still you are; you are not thinking while you are asleep, still you are; you may be in a coma, you are not thinking, still you are. “I think I am, therefore I am.” Thinking seems to be the most significant part. It is a conclusion of thinking that “I am, ” but when you are not thinking, what happens? In meditation there will be no thinking…When all thoughts have disappeared and you are sitting silently doing nothing, the East says, “For the first time you know you are — because now there is no object to distract your consciousness. Your whole consciousness is settled at the center, in the heart.” And it is not a conclusion; it is not “therefore…” What Descartes is saying is “my existence is a logical conclusion: I think, therefore I am.” It is not an existential experience, it is a logical conclusion. The East says, “When there is no thought, you experience that you are.” There is no question of “therefore…” Descartes can be refuted because it is only a logical conclusion. It is so simple to refute him, and he has become the father figure of Western philosophy! It is so simple to refute him because when you are asleep, you are — and you are not thinking. Even when you are just going for a walk, you are not thinking. If Descartes is right, then a person will be in a continuous trouble; he will have to think continuously, “I am thinking, ” to keep himself alive. The moment he forgets thinking, he is finished. It would be rather more mature to say, “I am, therefore I think. I am, therefore I dream. I am, therefore I meditate.” Then every possibility is open. Then you can do many things, everything: “I am, therefore I am silent.”

[stevebob]

These videos are brilliant, in content and in the visual references. I love the rabbit/ duck, and the Henry Fuseli painting reference

[Albertaevv]

Cogito ergo sum, i think THEREFORE I AMM!!! I AMMMM!!!

[parsimoniousdialog]

Wi-Fi router would just blowout Descartes' mind

[samihasib]

Who came here after Billie Eilish’s new song ‘Therefore I Am’?

[cranial]

Descartes original quote:
"I think I am, therefore I am, I think"

[hakumata]

Therefore, I am* by Billie Eilish brought me here

[MoonOwl]

Our collective thoughts manifest our world. We all have free will to create our own reality.

[sdorgham]

I saw this line for the first time on a shirt when I was in middle school, it struck me in a way I have no words for. It has quite literally carried me through life from then on. I only just decided to look into who came up with it.

[Guesswhokk]

(Original statement) "I doubt, therefore I think, therefore I am". This was never about "certainty", it about "self-doubt". In fact, if more thought experiments applied to support 'certainty of existence', the more uncertain it get. Infinite rabbit hole.

Ask any mathematicians, they all have issues with infinity where GOD is the centre of it. This is a contradiction within another contradiction, which is why "self doubt" was the centre of the his reasoning not "certainty" as some people claimed.

[andsalomoni]

"I drink a Mojito, ergo sum"
[Rene Descartes]

[jamesinson]

Is anybody else thinking that this dude had to be baking big time?

[theultimatereductionist]

Sadly, the internet has transformed Descartes' famous saying into: "I think, therefore I spam."

[breathandpeace]

Billie Eillish's song brought me here🖐