cogito, ergo sum

cogito, ergo sum
/koh"gi toh' erdd"goh soom"/; Eng. /koj"i toh' err"goh sum", er"goh/, Latin.
I think, therefore I am (stated by Descartes as the first principle in resolving universal doubt).

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(Latin; "I think, therefore I am")

Dictum coined in 1637 by René Descartes as a first step in demonstrating the attainability of certain knowledge.

It is the only statement to survive the test of his methodic doubt. The statement is indubitable, Descartes argued, because even if an all-powerful demon were to try to deceive him into thinking he exists when he does not, Descartes would have to exist in order to be deceived. Therefore, whenever he thinks, he exists. Furthermore, Descartes maintained, the statement "I am" (sum) expresses an immediate intuition, not the conclusion of a process of reasoning, and is thus indubitable.

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 (Latin: “I think, therefore I am”), dictum coined in 1637 by René Descartes (Descartes, René) as a first step in demonstrating the attainability of certain knowledge. It is the only statement to survive the test of his methodic doubt (q.v.). The statement is indubitable, Descartes argued, because even if an all-powerful demon were to try to deceive me into thinking that I exist when I do not, I would have to exist for the demon to deceive me. Therefore, whenever I think, I exist. Furthermore, he argued, the statement “I am” (sum) expresses an immediate intuition, not the conclusion of dubious reasoning, and is thus indubitable. Whatever I know, I know intuitively that I am.

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Universalium. 2010.

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  • Cogito Ergo Sum — Pour les articles homonymes, voir Cogito. Cogito, ergo sum signifie « je pense, donc je suis » en latin. Cette expression résume une position philosophique de Descartes, esquissée dans le Discours de la méthode (1637), puis développée… …   Wikipédia en Français

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  • cogito ergo sum — [käj′ə tō΄ ʉr′gō sum′] 〚L〛 I think, therefore I exist: the basic tenet of the philosophy of Descartes * * * …   Universalium

  • cogito ergo sum — [käj′ə tō΄ ʉr′gō sum′] [L] I think, therefore I exist: the basic tenet of the philosophy of Descartes …   English World dictionary

  • cogito, ergo sum — лат. (когито, эрго сум) «я мыслю, следовательно, существую» (слова французского философа Декарта). Толковый словарь иностранных слов Л. П. Крысина. М: Русский язык, 1998 …   Словарь иностранных слов русского языка

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  • Cogito ergo sum — Cogito ergo sum, lat., ich denke, mithin bin ich, Satz von Descartes, als unmittelbare Gewißheit an die Spitze seines Systems gestellt …   Herders Conversations-Lexikon

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