Descartes's First Principle
After studying Module 1: Lecture Materials & Resources, discuss the following:
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Re-read and ponder the quote by the Philosopher Rene Descartes on pages 3 and 4 of the downloaded textbook.
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Then give a critique of Descartes’s First Principle.
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Do you agree or disagree, and why?
Submission Instructions:
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Your initial post should be at least 12 sentences, formatted and cited in current MLA style with support from at least 1 in-text citation from your textbook and 1 from another source of your choosing.
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Use your lecture materials, not outside resources.
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Your initial post is worth 8 points.
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You should respond to at least two of your peers by extending, refuting/correcting, or adding nuance to their posts.
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Your reply posts are worth 2 points (1 point per response).
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READ:
Pages 1-18
The-Human-Experience-From-Human-Being-to-Human-Doing-1597772603._print.pdf
OER Commons: The Human Experience: From Human Being to Human Doing
Experience: From Human Being to Human Doing. OpenSLCC, 2020.
The answer
Critique of Descartes’s First Principle:
“Cogito, Ergo Sum”
Many people point to René
Descartes's "Cogito, ergo sum" (I think, therefore I am) as the
foundation of contemporary Western philosophy. Descartes suggests that the
process of questioning one's existence itself is evidence of one's mental
reality. Descartes comes to the conclusion that if he is thinking, he must
exist because doubt is a type of thought and thought necessitates a thinker.
In the Human Experience, this principle is explored within the framework of
metacognition and self-awareness. The textbook states, “We cannot doubt of our
existence while we doubt” (Adams et al. 2). This argument situates Descartes’s
claim not just as philosophical, but as a foundational truth about human
cognition — the fact that we can question reality means we are participating in
it.
Even though I like Descartes's First Principle's logical beauty, I disagree
with some of its consequences. The idea makes the rigid distinction between the
mind and the body, a dualism that has drawn a lot of criticism in modern
neuroscience and philosophy. Antonio Damasio and other contemporary thinkers
contend that embodied experiences within a physical brain, rather than merely
an isolated mind, are the source of consciousness and thought (Damasio 247).
Accordingly, the idea that "I think, therefore I am" is overly
simplistic since it ignores the social, emotional, and sensory aspects of life.
Moreover, solipsism, the
conviction that only one's thought is certain to exist, might result from
Descartes's skepticism, which is valuable in that it involves doubting
everything until one arrives at an undeniable truth. These run the risk of
separating the self from the outside world and reducing human experience to
inward workings. In contrast, the humanities as described in the textbook urge
us to examine the full spectrum of human experience — including emotions,
community, and cultural context — not just the internal cogito (Adams et al.
1).
However, Descartes's insight
still holds significant philosophical weight. It represents a significant shift
in epistemology by putting the pursuit of truth at the core of each person's
reasoning. I agree with Descartes in part on that point. His approach promotes
intellectual freedom and critical thinking. However, "I experience,
therefore I am," which includes thought as well as emotion, perception,
and intersubjectivity, may be a more sophisticated first principle.
Descartes's First Principle,
in summary, is a deep statement of intellectual self-awareness, but it is
unable to explain the complexity of human existence on its own. It is not the
end goal; rather, it is the beginning. Thinking and being in the world—embodied,
affective, and socially situated—are essential components of a true knowledge
of existence.
Works Cited
Adams, Claire, et al. The
Human Experience: From Human Being to Human Doing. OpenSLCC, 2020, pp. 1-8. OER
Commons
(https://www.oercommons.org/courses/the-human-experience-from-human-being-to-human-doing/view).
Damasio, Antonio. Descartes'
Error: Emotion, Reason, and the Human Brain. Penguin Books, 2005.
Reply 1
Regarding Descartes's
First Principle, "I think, therefore I am," I appreciate your
thoughtful post. I concur that by reaffirming the conviction of one's own
existence through thought, this statement establishes a strong foundation in contemporary
philosophy. As our textbook highlights on pages 3 and 4, Descartes employed
radical doubt to eliminate all doubts, yet thinking itself was still
indisputable (Adams et al. 3).
I’d like to expand on your point by suggesting that while thought confirms
existence, it doesn’t fully capture what it means to be human. The textbook
introduces the idea of metacognition (thinking about thinking), but also
stresses that our understanding is influenced by social, cultural, and
emotional contexts (Adams et al. 4).
Perhaps a more holistic view of existence would be: “I think, I feel, and I
relate — therefore I am.” What do you think? Could Descartes’s principle be
missing the emotional and embodied dimensions of being?
Reply 2
I like your
interpretation of Descartes's First Principle and how you see it as a strong
basis for knowledge. But I respectfully have a somewhat different perspective.
Even if "I think, therefore I am" is a potent philosophical argument,
I think it limits our comprehension of the world to the mind.
As the textbook points out in its section on meta-cognition (p. 4), we humans
are also shaped by our senses, culture, and experiences. Descartes’s dualism
may isolate the mind from the body, which contrasts with the humanities’ goal
of understanding the full human experience (Adams et al. 4).
Do you think Descartes’s idea would hold the same weight in a culture that
values collective identity over individual thought? This raises questions about
how context influences our understanding of existence. Maybe being human is not
only about thinking, but also about belonging.