Cogito, Ergo Sum
Cogito, Ergo Sum
Cogito, Ergo Sum
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IV-COGITO,
ERGO SUM
By W. VON LEYDEN
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W. VON LEYDEN
made-that both " I exist " and " I am thinking" are statements
describingor reportingfacts truly and that both " I do not
exist" and " I am not thinking" are statementsdescribingor
reportingfacts falsely. Accordingly,it mightbe arguedthat the
indubitabilityof Descartes'Cogito insightis not necessarilydue
to its performatorycharacternor that, becauseI cannot intelligently,i.e., withoutgivingriseto an " existentially" inconsistent
or self-defeatingstatement,deny " I exist " or " I am thinking",
such a denial must be tantamount to at once enteringinto
and not entering into a commitmentor the performanceof
an act.
Secondly,it is not clear to me whetherHintikkawishes to
interpretas performatorythe whole of the formulacogito, ergo
sum, or only the first part, i.e., the phrasecogito, or again only
the latterhalf, i.e., the phrasesum. The three types of interpretation mergeinto each otherthroughouthis paperin a confusing
mannerand are also, to my mind, each open to criticism. That
Hintikkaintendsthe first of these interpretationswould appear
from the title of his paperand the way in whichhe often speaks
of the performatoryaspectof " the Cogito" or of the performatorilyinterpreted" cogitoargument" (e.g., pp. 23, 27, andsect. 13
ad fin.) Assuming this is his intrepretation,one might ask
whether the issuing of the performativeutterance " cogito"
or alternatively" I exist" is not by itself sufficientto show the
truthintendedby Descartes. For is it not preciselyby the mere
utteranceof " cogito" or alternativelyof " I exist" that the
characterof Descartes'insight may be said to express itself?
Besides,if the whole Cartesianformulabe acceptedas performative in character,an unsatisfactoryconsequencewould appearto
be that by issuingthis utteranceone would both explicitlyassert
somethingwhichis true,i.e., that one exists,and at the sametime
be expectednot to assertanythingat all but merelyto implyor
to showthat one exists.
On the otherhand,if Hintikka'sintentionbe to interpretonly
the word cogito as performative,as would appearfrom what he
says on e.g., pp. 17 and 31-32, he would be splittingup the
meaning of a formula which Descartes obviously regardedas
uniformin character. Besides,would not on this interpretation,
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W. VON LEYDEN
Moreover,a difficultywouldnow also ariseas to the interpretation of ergo sum: is this to mean the fact that I exist or that
I am certainthat I exist? In other words, is Descartes'Cogito
intendedas the embodimentof an ontologyor an epistemology?
Here, I think, Mr. Hintikkais guiltyof a certainconfusion. He
says " the word cogito refers to the ' performance ' (to the act
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point4of his metaphysics,and this was the fact that, even though
I may doubt, dream,be deceived,or think wrongly,so that what
I am thinkingabout may be false, it is neverthelessindubitable
that I am consciousof somethingwheneverI doubt, dreametc.,
and thereforeI mustthinkand exist. Accordingly,thoughI fully
agreewith Hintikkawhen he says (pp. 18-19), " the reasonwhy
Descartes could not doubt his own existence is in principle
exactlythe sameas the reasonwhy he could not hope to mislead
anybodyby saying'I don't exist ' ", I doubt whetherhe is right
in claimingthat " the one does not presupposeintrospectionany
more than the other" (p. 19). In my view, as I shall try to
explain later, Descartes'Cogito insight is not wholly separable
fromwhatusedto be calledactsof introspectionor self-awareness.
And it seemsto me that it is only by disregardingthis aspectof
the questioncompletelythat Hintikkahas been able to lay so
much stress on an over-allinterpretationof the Cogito as performative.
Before advancingmy own suggestionfor an analysisof the
Cogito,however,I may add here that in connexionwith such an
analysisit is important,more so even than Hintikkawould seem
to recognize,to distinguishclearlyand persistentlybetweenthree
differentissues, namely (a) that of ascertainingthe meaningof
the Cogitoas intendedby Descartes;(b) that of ascertainingwhat
the Cogito may mean in connexion with any particularphilosophicalissue, or what it has been held to mean in one or the
to which
otherof the hundredsof discussionsand interpretations
this Cartesianprinciplehas givenrise;and (c) that of ascertaining
whatit must meanin orderfor it to be acceptedas a proposition
one knowsto be true or a piece of reasoningone can show to be
valid.
2. The indispensability of the first-person pronoun " I" in the
formulation of Descartes' insight
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W. VON LEYDEN
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W. VON LEYDEN
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W. VON LEYDEN
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W. VON LEYDEN
24
25
Op cit., p. 33.
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29
30
Ibid., p. 186.
Ibid., p. 190.
Ibid., p. 191.
Ibid., p. 192-3.
Ibid., pp. 191, line 35, and 192, line 7.
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W. VON LEYDEN
I. T. Ramsey, " The Systematic Elusiveness of ' I ' ", The Philosophical
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W. VON LEYDEN
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