Cogito Ergo Sum

[Tanya Voytus]

Good evening, class.

I really enjoyed our conversation on the different types of love in
class today. Thank you all for participating.

Your homework for Thursday is to respond to this post (with a GOOD
paragraph) about what you think the phrase "I think; therefore, I am,"
means. You may do research to spark your ideas, but I do not want a
regurgitated definition of what this means. I want you to think about
what comes into your mind as you read this statement, and what
relevance it has to your life.

Good luck!

Ms. V.

[Nethera]

It means I can be anything I want to make myself.

[Lexie]

The first thing I thought of was how people say that your thoughts can
create things in reality. I read a little bit about how it said that
it's someone questioning their own existence. Thoughts are powerful
because they're the one part of yourself that you can keep to yourself
or share. And they do constantly change you, or change along with you,
depending on what you decide to do with them. Your thoughts are what
drive your actions, and your longings, and every cause and effect in
your life. Even in terms of subconscious thought. It's what makes you,
you.

[Stephen Fischer]

When I see the latin statement "Cogito Ergo Sum" proposed by
Descartes, I think of our own personal entity. Take one person in the
world but yourself as an example, you see their memories, you have
their thoughts, etc., but you aren't really that person. But, on the
other hand, our own notions, memories, etc. are consciously and
subconsciously embedded into ourselves and we always have that
somewhere in the back of our minds. Even with them there, our thoughts
differ on a daily basis and may not be the same one day and vice
versa. That makes me think about "Dubito, ergo cogito, ergo sum" or "I
doubt, therefore I think, therefore I am." To me, we must doubt things
that we think about one day consciously or subconsciously with the
things that we believe to be true another day. I mean, if you don't
doubt things in life, how are you supposed to find the answer you're
ultimately looking for?

[Jeremy Haug]

It reminds me of "Mind over matter" But more inside and through thought. It's not like I can say "I'm a lizard" and be a lizard. It's deeper, kind of like moral or self esteem. "I think I'm happy" or believing you're happy with whatever is powerful. Oh god can't syntax or sentence It's like 3 am :( but the human mind is a powerful tool, it makes us believe crazy things. To elaborate I think the "mind" and we as people are diverse. 

[Tanya Voytus]

Great job so far, everyone!

Lexie - I love the idea that your thoughts can create a reality, and
you're right - this statement is about the questioning of your
existence. My question to you is: "And they do constantly change you,
or change along with you" - which do you think is more correct? Do you
think we are capable of changing our thoughts, or our thoughts change
us? Is there a difference, and if so, which is the more true
statement?

Stephen - It sounds like you have a little bit of a background in what
we are going to be studying. Descartes does begin his meditations with
doubt, and this is a key aspect of developing your thought. When you
discuss the difference between seeing the Other (another person) as
opposed to yourself, what's the point you are trying to make? What
does the other have to do with "I think; therefore, I am"?

Jeremy - It seems that your supporting the mind as stronger than our
circumstances. Do you ever think that there's a time where our
circumstances can overcome our minds? If we can think we're happy, and
then move towards being happy, then why are there still people that
are not so? How is it that our minds have this great potential that is
not utilized?

Keep going, everyone, and feel free to respond to each other!

Ms. V.

[Dylan]

The phrase: "I think; therefore, I am," can be interpreted multiple ways. Here is how I perceive this quote(without any prior research): 

"I think; therefore I am", can be taken in a literal sense but then I remember this is all philosophy related. Therefore, in my opinion, a literal translation  defeats the purpose of this field of study. I will try to make this as simple as possible, so I will explain with an example that is actual possible to occur:

         So, let's say I was a criminal defense lawyer in New York City and have won my last several cases consecutively. Now,  New York Times, USA Today, Daily News and other well known labels have featured articles about my success within their newspapers. Everyday, I walk through Queens and people stop me, complementing me on my winning stream. I begin to think I am the best. Therefore, I am the best. 

Dylan

 

[Bob Weindorf]

I dont have the website so i cant post im replying to god knows where so ask me in class what i think this is just to show you i rememberd

---

From: Tanya Voytus <ms.v...@gmail.com>
To: Sage Day Philosophy <sage-day-...@googlegroups.com>
Sent: Wednesday, February 15, 2012 7:58 AM
Subject: Re: Cogito Ergo Sum

[Tanya Voytus]

By emailing sage-day-...@googlegroups.com you posted in the site. So write an email with your thoughts.

[Lexie]

I think you definitely can change your thoughts. I know that in my
experience, I used to be pretty pessimistic and cynical about love and
people, but as time went on, I realized that I had to change my
thought process, and I did. Also though, circumstances in my life
changed. Life became easier, and there weren't as many problems, so
that changed me too. I think what happened first was that my thoughts
changed along with me. It took my circumstances changing to change my
thoughts. After that, it was just easier to change my thoughts
whenever I would have a negative one. I think our conscious thoughts
are the part of us that we can control, but the thoughts that I have
had that are kind of subconscious are just a part of who I am. I know
I can't change them, but they do evolve as I grow as a person. The
reason why I said in class that I think some of us are born with the
idea of God, is because I grew up in a spiritual family. My mom and
dad never told me there was a set belief system with one God, or
really any God. I just had this preconceived notion of a higher power,
and I developed it through experiences, living in the middle of a
forest, and not having any religious beliefs instilled in me. So, what
I'm trying to say is that I think we have the ability to change our
thoughts, but the thoughts that we had since we were very young, the
ones that are just a part of who we are, change along with us. What
I've noticed is that as much as I grow and change, certain thoughts
never, ever go away. Thoughts of God and Nature and the spirituality I
developed when I was very young have been a constant part of my life.

[Tanya Voytus]

Interesting assessment, Dylan. What you did, though, was add a
quality, or a property, onto the quote, in this case, "the best".
Think about what the simple statement "I am" means. It is not that I
am any specific thing or any specific way, but instead, I just "am".
What does that mean to you?

Great job,

Ms. V.

[Tanya Voytus]

I'm really impressed with your writing, Lexie. You're lucky that you've already learned that changing thoughts, while difficult, is possible. Keep your mind open to that idea and the world will be full of possibilities. 

[bunnyc...@aol.com]

 The meaning of the phrase is that someone wondering whether or not he or she exists is, in and of itself, proof that something, an "I", exists to do the thinking — However this "I" is not the more or less permanent person we call "I". It may be that the something that thinks is purely momentary, and not the same as the something which has a different thought the next moment.

To me it means that you question yourself if you or something exists whether if it's in your mind, someone else's mind, a figure of speech or that you are symbolic of something such a shadow of the real world (true form.)

 

I find this question takes a while to find a answer to. I think that this question, when you go much deeper in to it, you find that other philosophical questions arise. I feel that everybody sometime in there life will be curious if they are really here or there. I have come to the conclusion that I'm here because I have a purpose on this earth. I also am reassured that there is a reason for everything. When thinking of this question I believe that life will make more sence if you have an answer to it. You also could be free too, if you find that there is a point to your existence. If you find a point to your existence then you will feel more at ease and that the world is waiting for what (you are meant to do (in general.)) It is also relevant to my life because it gets me to think in a introspective way of what goals I need to accomplish to fill my purpose.

 

 

-----Original Message-----
From: Tanya Voytus <ms.v...@gmail.com>
To: Sage Day Philosophy <sage-day-...@googlegroups.com>