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Mon 31 Aug, 2009 01:19 pm
No argument with Descartes, but for theological reasons I would like to write:
"God thinks, therefore I am."
Much obliged for any answer! Peter
That doesn't make any sense.... I mean when Descartes says "I think therefore I am" he is offering the fact that he thinks as proof of his own existence. Of course, Descartes is sure of his own thoughts, meaning that his own thoughts are a perfectly reasonable thing for him to base a proof on.
When you say "God thinks therefore I am", you are offering God's thoughts as proof of your existence. This is illogical for two reasons.
1) No one is privy to God's thoughts, meaning that God's thoughts are not a good basis for proof of anything.
2) Your existence is not in question.
Now some people would say the Bible is a good source of God's thoughts, but the very fact that you read the Bible proves your existence... meaning that again the whole idea is rather silly.
Let me suggest an alternative. What about
"I am, therefore God thinks.".
In this case you would be using the fact of your own existence (something that thanks to Descartes you can be sure about) as proof that God actually has a brain. Depending on how logical your own existence happens to be, this might make sense.
I just hope you haven't gotten the tattoo yet.
Darn... I should have read all the responses before posting mine...
ebrown p wrote:
That doesn't make any sense.... I mean when Descartes says "I think therefore I am" he is offering the fact that he thinks as proof of his own existence. Of course, Descartes is sure of his own thoughts, meaning that his own thoughts are a perfectly reasonable thing for him to base a proof on.
Actually, "God thinks, therefore I am" is a pretty succinct summary of
George Berkeley's idealism, which was a rejection of Cartesian dualism.
How about Cogito sum ergo sum. Cogito
Actually this translates best into English if pronounced with a heavy Mexican accent.
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