＂I think, therefore I am＂ Explained ｜ Descartes ｜ Cogito Argument

I think therefore I am. What does that even mean? Well, in this video, we're going to explore just that. I think therefore I am is perhaps the most famous phrase in all of philosophy. Perhaps even more so now due to a certain hit single. In philosophy, it's often called the Cogito argument due to the Latin version of the phrase Cogito Ergo Sum, which might be the most popular tattoo for philosophy undergrads. But perhaps it should be called the Dubito argument since the full argument relies on what's called Methodic Doubt, a strategy of finding absolute certainty by doubting everything that is possible to doubt. The 17th century philosopher Rene Descartes wanted to find an absolute, undoubtable truth in order to build a system of knowledge on a solid foundation. Through Methodic Doubt, Descartes determined that almost everything could be doubted. Although unlikely, it's at least possible that we're in some sort of cosmic dream, or perhaps we're being deceived by a powerful demon, and so we can't know with absolute certainty that the world around us is actually there. This is where I think therefore I am comes in to save the day. After doubting everything in the external world, Descartes turns to attempting to doubt his internal world, that of his own mind. Descartes found that although he could doubt many things about himself, one thing that he could not doubt is that he exists. The argument goes as follows. If I attempt to doubt my own existence, then I'm thinking. Thinking things exist, therefore I exist, at the very least as a thinking thing. I think therefore I am is a truncated version of this argument. It's perhaps better summarized as I doubt, so I think, therefore I am. Go ahead and try it. Doubt your own existence entirely. How's that going for you? According to Descartes, even though you could doubt many aspects of yourself, you can't doubt that you exist entirely. You can perhaps doubt many aspects of yourself, such as are you a good person? Are you even human? Do you actually have hands? Perhaps you're actually an alien octopus creature dreaming all of this up. So even though you could doubt all these things about yourself, one thing you cannot doubt, according to Rene Descartes, is that you are a thinking thing. That you exist in some way. He says, now that I have convinced myself that there is nothing in the world, no sky, no earth, no minds, no bodies, does it follow that I don't exist either? No, it does not follow. For if I convinced myself of something, then I certainly existed. At last, I have discovered it. But this is the one thing that can't be separated from me. I am. I exist. That is certain. Every time you attempt to doubt your own existence as a thinking thing, you thereby affirm it by thinking. Rational self-awareness then is that undoubtable absolute certainty that Descartes was looking for as a foundation to all of knowledge. Historians often view this as a turning point in the history of philosophy, marking it the beginning of the modern philosophy period. I hope this video helped you understand the phrase, I think therefore I am, and its role in epistemology, the study of knowledge. If you find this argument convincing, stick around for a future video, where I will argue for what I call the logical uncertainty principle, claiming that everything has a degree of uncertainty, including René Descartes, I think therefore I am. Thanks for watching, and of course, consider subscribing, liking, and sharing this video. It helps us beat the algorithms.