Is this a commonly held misconception?

[Mo0o]

I think therefore I am/ I think therefore I exist

Seems like a lot of people misinterpret this line as saying whatever you think you are, then that is what you are. Something along the lines of, I think I am funny, therefore I am funny.

But I thought the phrase was talking about the nature of existence and of being. I read somewhere that what Descartes was saying was that because he is able to think and contemplate his existence, he can be sure he exists. Is this kind of the gist of it?

 

[KLin]

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cogito_ergo_sum

 

[Viper0329]

Yes. It comes from his attempt to know something with absolute certainty. However, it was later found to be a fallacious (sp?) argument because it is circular. It pre-assumes what he is trying to prove.

 

[tweakmm]

Your friends are assuredly wrong, you have the right idea as to what Descartes was getting at.

As to whether the concept is a commonly held misconception, I really hate to imagine what is in the mind of Joe Blow walking down the street.

As to whether Descartes was actually right or not, I really wish I had that kind of know-withal to answer the question. I think for the most part, existence, by definition, has to encompas more than five words. On the diametrically opposite end, I do believe that existence is simply the state of being.

 

[Xyclone]

Originally posted by: KLin
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cogito_ergo_sum

FTW

Btw, I've never ran into what the OP was saying.

 

[iamaelephant]

I always considered it to mean something like the weak anthropic principle, meaning I think because I am here to think. I am able to ponder my existance because I exist.

But now that I think about it, I may have it backwards.

 

[Reel]

This fallacy and its prevalence is illustrated by the popular joke:

Descartes is sitting in a bar, having a drink. The bartender asks him if he would like another. "I think not," he says, and vanishes in a puff of logic.

Popular joke? Somehow, I think that is an exaggeration.

 

[QED]

I've met quite a few people (fellow professors, even) who thought that the statement meant "I am whatever I think I am"...

Personally, I think Descartes wasn't necessarily talking about existencialism per se as much as he was contemplating what seperates us from other living and non-living things. What makes Descartes Descartes is not his arms or his face or legs, or even his brain... but rather it is his thoughts that make him himself and different from every other living thing, yet similiar to those of us who share the human condition.

Tree are alive and exist, but have no thoughts. Dogs are alive, but it is debatable if they have any sort of consious thought... etc.

 

[fitzov]

That sounds like an undergrad misinterpretation from not going to class.

Anyhow, if you read the Meditations, Descartes' argument goes something like this:

Something that thinks is something that exists.
I think (for even if I were thinking something erroneous, it would still follow that I am thinking).
Therefore, I exist.

 

[tfinch2]

Originally posted by: Reel

This fallacy and its prevalence is illustrated by the popular joke:

Descartes is sitting in a bar, having a drink. The bartender asks him if he would like another. "I think not," he says, and vanishes in a puff of logic.

Popular joke? Somehow, I think that is an exaggeration.

I've heard it many times.

 

[91TTZ]

Originally posted by: Mo0o
I think therefore I am/ I think therefore I exist

Seems like a lot of people misinterpret this line as saying whatever you think you are, then that is what you are. Something along the lines of, I think I am funny, therefore I am funny.

But I thought the phrase was talking about the nature of existence and of being. I read somewhere that what Descartes was saying was that because he is able to think and contemplate his existence, he can be sure he exists. Is this kind of the gist of it?

I don't know, ask Descartes- he posts on this board.