Spirituality – René Descartes – Cogito Ergo Sum (Part 1)

Cogito ergo sum is a Latin philosophical proposition by René Descartes usually translated into English as “I think, therefore I am”. The phrase originally appeared in French as “je pense, donc je suis” in his Discourse on the Method, so as to reach a wider audience than Latin would have allowed. It appeared in Latin in his later Principles of Philosophy. As Descartes explained, “[W]e cannot doubt of our existence while we doubt… .” A fuller form, dubito, ergo cogito, ergo sum (“I doubt, therefore I think, therefore I am”), aptly captures Descartes’ intent.

This proposition became a fundamental element of Western philosophy, as it purported to form a secure foundation for knowledge in the face of radical doubt. While other knowledge could be a figment of imagination, deception, or mistake, Descartes asserted that the very act of doubting one’s own existence served – at minimum – as proof of the reality of one’s own mind; there must be a thinking entity – in this case the self – for there to be a thought.

Luc Paquin