Consciousness: Cogito Ergo Sum 01
Jan 01, 2016
This first episode is based on the philosophy of René Descartes, a French mathematician, scientist and philosopher. He was far from being the first to think about how anyone can possibly prove that the world around them is real, but his account of it is probably the most famous. He hypothesised that an Evil Demon might be controlling his every thought, creating an entire illusory world that it would be impossible to tell didn't really exist. Have fun feeling like everything you've ever known has been put into question!
When my first philosophy teacher explained this, the class was immediately divided into those who were infuriated by the idea that their existence should be put into question. They immediately started coming up with arguments to prove... well, the existence of all of reality ever.
The other half accepted that there was no way they could possibly demonstrate that everything around them was real. After all, it didn't change our lives much...
References:
René Descartes, Meditations On First Philosophy (Alex Catalogue).
Simon Blackburn, Think (Oxford University Press 1999).
BubbaKnowlton
Top comment
Oh boy, this one really hits hard for me. As someone who hallucinates frequently, the 'your senses lie to you all the time' really is true. I'm looking forward to more of this!! Always loved dragons and philosophies so I can tell I'll really like this series!
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