I think, therefore, am I?

Question

Descartes said 'I think, therefore I am'.
I beg to differ. I think, therefore am I a Philosophical question I would like you to answer for me, before I tell you the answer.

P.S. Try to answer the philosophical question, rather than try for easy points.
I think, therefore, am I?

And no religious nonsense please. Shame I can't give that one a bad rating yet.

Answer 1

Does merely thinking autmatically grant one existence? I've argued in previous question/answer sessions it's not perception that defines reality. Your belief, acted upon by perception, is the creator of reality and existence (providing one believes it to exist). If I formulate the thought, "Two plus two equals four", I do not necessarily exist. If I believe I exist, then I do. This belief would require a thought process. So a thought could grant existence. Descartes' statement was general in nature, so one could find a loophole, like "I think bananas are yummy, therefore I exist" (?). "I think (believe) I exist, therefore I am" is a more accurate, correct statement.

But what if one thinks, convincingly, "I do not exist, therefore I am not"? This belief extinguishes the existence of the individual. But the statement required thought, recognized by the thinker, and this would indicate self-awareness, conflicting with the thinker's belief. This perception would probably cause a change in belief (The thinker must exist; where did the thought come from?) and thusly a change in reality. So it might not be possible to think oneself into non-existence.

"I think I exist, therefore I am" might just be a default truth for thinking beings. "I think, therfore I am" is probably true as Descartes intended it to be as recognition of a thought would bring about self-awareness, but I think the previous statement is more accurate. And since I believe that, it must be until perception tells me otherwise!

Answer 2

Because our moral values and beliefs and personal perspectives dictate our actions, motivations and responses to external influences.

People who think differently would do things that would later prove definitive of their being, their achievements and their lives. That's why there are people like Leonardo Da Vinci, Galileo, Socrates, people like Adolf Hitler, George Bush, Saddam Hussein, Osama bin Laden, and ordinary people that plough through our streets everyday.

Its therefore sufficient to say that our thoughts constitutes to what accounts for our primary being in physical existence.

Answer 3

Hitler grew to become right into a creationist or a catholic? i think of the missed ingredient is that Hitler grew to become right into a homicidal- genocidal, murdering freak. Doesnt have lots to do with any faith or type of spirituality i comprehend of.

Answer 4

It really is not a philosophical question - you may just see it as one. "I AM" is a means of your defining yourself. Acknowledging your "presence". The question is in your mind only - and therefore, so is the answer.

Answer 5

Yes I am consciously aware of my existence therefore I must exist.

Answer 6

"Cogito ergo sum" -- the only certainly true statement man has ever said. Attempts to deny it are painfully futile.

Answer 7

I AM is an absolute, it goes way back , it is the self acknowledgment of you being of one and nothing else, there fore I AM.

I AM

Answer 8

Yes.

Answer 9

If you think, then you exist. If you don't exist, would you be able to think and do all the stuff you do while living?

Answer 10

I've always thought he was misquoted - he actually said, "I am, therefore I think."