'I Think Therefore I Am' Explained

--------------------------VIDEO NOTES--------------------------

"I think, therefore I am" is perhaps the most famous phrase in the history of Western philosophy. Most people have heard it, many know what it means, but fewer still are aware of the myriad debates surrounding its meaning, translation, and success. I certainly wasn't before encountering it at university, where I chose to specialise in early modern philosophy.

This video is an introduction to "the cogito", as it is often called, and a brief exploration of some of the debates that surround it.

(A note: I refer to a horse and a horn as a Humean "simple idea" - this is not quite right: a simple idea is one which cannot be broken down into further simple ideas (such as colours, smells, etc.). To explain this nuance would have been an irrelevant detour, and the point ought still carry. A unicorn is, to correctly invoke Hume, a complex idea made up of further complex ideas, made up of simple ideas, which originate in simple impressions.)

(Note 2: Some empiricists will claim that knowledge comes *primarily* from our sense data, allowing for some limited a priori knowledge, and still call themselves empiricists.)

---------------RECOMMENDED READING----------------

Also relevant:

-------------------------TIMESTAMPS---------------------------

0:00 Introduction
1:05 1: Rationalism
3:58 2: The Evil Demon
6:36 3: The Cogito
10:16 4: Deduction or Intuition?
15:30 5: A Mistranslation of Descartes?
18:35 6: Certainty vs Truth
20:43 Closing

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[calumweir]

A philosopher walks into a bar; the bartender says “a beer”. The philosopher responds “I think not”… and then he disappears

[rayanmallah]

i cannot comprehend not thinking, not existing, i just cannot get it into my mind that theres gonna be a day where i wont think therefore i wont be, i truly wish ican understand not existing

[EdensGateOffical]

"I am am, I think therefore... I am."

[apockylypse]

I have no mouth and I must scream reference

[crossbyth]

Who's seeing this because of "I have no mouth and I must scream"?

[JohnnyHofmann]

Coffee is brewing, day off work, new Cosmic Skeptic video. Life is good.

[luvbugz]

As saying you changed the trajectory of my life may be a little too much of an overstatement, I’ll just admit the content you create has throughly impacted every aspect of the way I perceive my surroundings and express my interests. Your videos have deepened the way I analyze and process any input I receive. Finding your channel truly has been what I needed to further define what person I want to become and what paths do I want to follow when I become and adult. Thank you so much Alex!

[gamingdiscipline]

This is exactly what we need more of! Can you do David Hume or Kant's most famous works next?

[ciige]

Seeing as my native language is German, which does not have a Continuous Present or equivalent, and having always understood the Cogito in this way anyways, this video has once again shown me the importance of clearly defined language, not only of course, but especially in discussion of thought.

Thank you very much, for providing a fascinating new perspective, great video, keep it up!

[RandomHuman]

"I think, therefore I am" and the meditations were the first things I got taught in my first A level philosophy lesson, and I knew I was going to love the subject immediately.

[sandre_sandre]

Great explanation thanks!

Reminds me one of the gems that can be found in the french comics Astérix (making a pun between "je suis" = "I am" and "je suis" = "I am following"):

Astérix and Obélix want to enter a roman fort, but they must give a password (which is "cogito ergo sum", but Astérix can't remember it).

Astérix: "do you remember [the password]?"
Obélix: "You know, foreign languages and me... And after all, YOU are thinking, I am following." (in French: "Oh, tu sais, moi, les langues étrangères… Et puis, toi tu penses, moi je suis.")

Brilliant!

[eoghan.]

This was great! More of this kind - exploring central ideas in different philosophical issues, looking at different philosophers - would be really interesting!

[Katiekato]

I never realized until now, that your channel and the way you speak, rationalize and build arguments has been a major reason why I got into studying philosophy. Thank you so much for your amazing work! It has brought so much positive change into my life!

[laurastormgarcia]

I remember my Father reading the book you’re referring to after his first heart attack at age 37. I was awestruck when he quoted “I think, therefore, I am, ” to me, when he began meditation and yoga, after his triple bypass open-heart surgery, in 1975.

These words put together made absolute sense to me. OF COURSE! I THINK, THEREFORE I AM! Brilliant!!! For a 13-year old girl at the time … and a freshman in high school, I had absorbed these words and resonated with them, of not knowing why, until much later.

Your discussion and your concise explanation of the subject matter is simply stated for my 61 yr. old mind to understand 😉, and absolutely fascinating! Thank you!

[lukrassful]

Language is an interesting thing. In German you say “ich denke, also bin ich” which is pretty mich the same as cogito ergo sum. There is no difference in the present form but just the one existing. So the interpretation cannot get lost in translation, but rather in the interpretation itself

[afreenjamal]

I watched your videos when I got married. I got separated 5 months after I got married and I continue to watch your videos during my divorce proceedings. Turns out I had a longer relationship with your YouTube channel than I had with my abusive ex husband. Still, I discussed some of your videos with him and it's nostalgic. Cheers!!

Edit: Getting abused and divorced at 26 gives you a weird understanding of the world.

[truth]

it means "I think therefore I am", but in buddhist terms, it could be more "I think, therefor the idea of me exists", and if we stop thinking the idea of being seperate from everything else breaks down and we feel apart of something bigger

[Lis-ohsq]

To me this guy explains concepts in a such clear way that I finally understand them. I don't get how google or textbooks can't do that. Also, these videos are hella interesting, thank you for them!

[tazziiieee]

Dude I am an atheist ex-muslim from India, I have watching you frequently since 2019.You was among the first people that convinced me to become atheist and vegan.You have a deep and profound impact and influence on my life.I wish I could financially support you but I am just a student ATM :/, I will surely do this in the future.Please continue to make videos like these on prominent historical figures like Descartes and Galilei.I am also missing some of your old content such as Podcasts and debunk1ng arguments for the existence of god and calling out religious stup1dity.Absolutely love you and your videos and will continue to watch them.As always..keep up the good work man ;) 👍

[siegbertpseudo]

18:48 Although one can doubt the Cogito. Nietzsche said in Beyond good and evil that you can't think anything. Only something thinks. The thoughts arise from themselves and you yourself can't think. Somethings thinks and Descartes proposed that this something is you or I. Nietzsche thinks that this thought comes from the grammatical structure of the French and other languages. The predicats is "thinking" and therefore this sentence has to have a subject: something or I. And furthermore even to say that something thinks is not true because it's an observation. You observe that something thinks before you can say that it thinks. I think that's maybe the point of language in itself... So you can even doubt the Cogito in that form.