criticisms of the cogito

8/13/2019 Criticisms of the Cogito

1/8

1

Whats wrong with the cogito? 1) Is there a questionable hidden premise?

Most criticism is of the cogito in its earlier format:I think therefore I am, in the Discourse onMethod.

1) The hidden premise:(First raised by Lichtenberg)

I thinkThinking things existTherefore I am


2/8

2

The hidden premise: I thinkThinking things existTherefore I exist

This premise is questionable -Does the existence of thoughtsnecessarily imply a thinker? David Hume argued that we have noright to assume this, as does the anatta (no-self) doctrine ofBuddhism. Perhaps Descartes should have said, There isthinking going on; therefore there are thoughts. The cogitotherefore doesnt actually establish the existence of a self.

I is merely a linguistic convenience . It doesnt actually refer toanything, any more than the It in It is raining. Descartes strays from his rationalistic agenda here since

thinking things exist is an a posteriori, empirical observation.



3/8

3

The hidden premise: counter arguments

I thinkThinking things exist

Therefore I existOwnerless, thinkerless thoughts pretty weird!The suppressed premise argument assumes that Descartes intended the

cogito as a piece of syllogistic (deductive) logic. However, Descartes didnot intend the cogito to operate this way. The Meditations should be

seen as a course in guided self-discovery and the cogito as a self-authenticating proposition . According to Cottingham, Descartesexpre

ssly made this point to Leibniz at the time.Descartes restates the cogito in the Meditations as I exist is necessarily

true. to clarify this and overcome the criticism



4/8

4

I thinkTherefore I am

Whats wrong with the cogito? 2) The cogito is circular.

According toBertrand Russellthe cogito iscircular since itassumes what itis setting out toprove.


5/8

5

I thinkTherefore I am

Whats wrong with the cogito? 2) The cogito is circular. Counter argument

But as with the hidden premiseargument, Descartes never intendedthe cogito to be a deductiveargument, and his restatement of thecogito in the Meditations (I am, Iexist is necessarily true) overcomesthis criticism.


6/8

6

Whats wrong with the cogito? 3 ) The cogito is trivial - It doesnt tell us anything of significance.

Most critics of Descartes are willing to granthim the cogito, but would argue that if this isas far as his argument goes then he has

established very little indeed. His task is toovercome scepticism and produce somecertainty about the world out there.

He claims this is his Archimedian point, hisfoundational proposition upon which he willbuild knowledge but, as we shall see, heabandons this as a foundation, and usesarguments for God as his means ofovercoming scepticism.


7/8

7

Whats wrong with the cogito? 4) Could you exist without a body?

Descartes is a dualist - he believes in the existenceof a body and a mind. He argues that although hemay be deceived by an evil demon into believing he

has a body, he must have a mind since he hasthoughts.

This viewpoint is contrary to modern neuro-science

(study of the brain) which takes a monist position we only have a body. Thoughts exist in the brainnerve cells. Without a brain there can be nothoughts. If you cant exist without a body thenDescartes position is seriously undermined.


8/8

8

Whats wrong with the cogito? 4) Could you exist without a body? Counter argument

Descartes argues that he has morecertainty of the existence of the mindthan that of the body because, whereashe may be deceived into believing that aphysical world (including his body) exists,he, as a mind, must exist to be deceived inthe first place.

He says that although he cant establishthat he has a body, he can establish thathe is a thinking thing .

criticisms of the cogito

Documents