I think, therefore I am (René Descartes)

"Thinking is existence"

Kimmo Huosionmaa


http://metsantarinoita.blogspot.com/p/i-think-therefore-i-am-rene-descartes.html

Those very well known words of the famous philosopher René Descartes are also very mysterious, and when we are thinking about the personality of this man, we might ask, what he meant, when he said or wrote those very famous words? Did he mean, that the thinking proved that he was alive or existed? That means Descartes was thought something very deep in his head. And when we are trying to analyze the origin of those words, we might want to know, was Descartes very tired?  Or was he in some bar, or talking with another person? And did this another person wrote those words to paper, because he or she understood the deep philosophy about those words. This is the reason, why this text is actually philosophical writing about those famous words, what are one of the most well-known words, what any philosopher has ever said.


But there is another way to close those words, and this is that Descartes actually was very careful in his private relationships, and avoided to talk deep things with opponents, who might modify or tell those things selectively to the people, who they would not be meant. I think that Descartes meant that writing would save his head sometimes because that allows proving the words to the officials. Of course, Descartes warned other people that the unthinkable talking would sometimes cost his head, but because he spoke too much all the time, would he like to write his thoughts to the paper, because that eliminated the possibility to tell selective parts of those thoughts for other persons.


I think that René as I sometimes call this philosopher was not the very impressive man, and because he wrote his ideas to the paper, would other persons see the things, what he thought. All thought must be seen better than some parts of those thoughts. During his life, there might be millions of words, what this man, who was Frenchman and lived in Sweden have said, and sometimes those persons met the man or woman, who took only two words of this man's work, and then they delivered those words to everybody.


That would have seemed quite interesting in the eyes of Descartes because two words don't make anybody worse than they really are. We have all been children, and in that time, we have said many words, what were not clever. But if somebody says, that I saw two unthinkable words at the age of 12, I would think that person would be some way different than the normal person. Those kinds of persons sometimes come to the table of the men like Descartes. They would not remember anything than those two words, and that seems very nice in their own eyes.


But when people are coming to the age of 43, they would say also something else, than just those two words. This is the thing, what might be interesting in the mind of René Descartes. Those words were not everything, what he said even in those ages, and when we are thinking about the famous words  "I think, therefore I am", we should think, does Descartes say those words to the person, who suspected his right to be in somewhere like University?


Or is he the right person for his duties? Then this person asks, does Descartes think, that he is clever, he might say, that thinking is the way to show the right to be in the place, where thinkers are studying. Maybe this suspicious person has kept the course book all the time in the command, and then this person would ask Descartes, how he could do the exam.  And then Descartes said, that he put the paper his own ideas. This is one way to think about the place in the society.


Because some people have existed, they have right to be in the places, where they have made the pass-test, what has been accepted. When we are thinking about the University, there would be millions of people, whoever writes their own ideas. They just lend the books from the library and then copy those thoughts from the books to their works.  René Descartes is the very interesting person, and he is very good character both fictional and scientific writings. And the words are free, and some writer would write the book, where the main character would be this famous philosopher. This is free land, and people have right to use their own words in the writings. In philosophy is no need to proof the words what have been written, what gives the freedom for making the texts, and tell our opinions for other persons.