Decartes states that the fact that we think is the reason that we can be 100% sure that we exist. This is a very interesting philosophical theory and it made me think about some other philosophical theories realted to existence of oneself and thinking.
Here are 2 outlandish philosophical theories that is related to both existence and thinking.
1. Solipsism: The idea that nothing exists but the individual’s consciousness. Although it seems silly at first. This idea is very close to what Descartes thought while he was thinking about the absolute truth. He stated that senses can sometimes deceive people he stated that anything related to senses is not the absolute truth and we can sense things in our dreams as well. Furthermore he stated that the thoughts created by the mind can also enter in dream like stages so the thoughts of one is not the absolute truth either after these realizations the only thing he finds as real is himself because he can think and doubt about his existence. So only thing he is sure is that he exists because he can think. This is pretty close to the idea of solipsism since it states that only thing that exist is the consciousness of an individual.
2. Second theory is the brain in a jar theory. This is a thought experiment that is discussed by the people who think that human’s understanding of reality depends solely on his subjective feelings.
For this scenario to work Imagine that you are just a brain in a jar that is run by aliens or mad scientists. You cannot know that and there is no way that you can figure out the truth (you are just a brain in a jar) and your entire reality is controlled by electric impulses sent to your brain by mad scientists/aliens. This thought experiment leads to the concusion that we cannot confirm the actual existence of anything except our consciousness. This is pretty much the same thinking process that descrates had in his quest to find the absolute truth when he started discrediting thinking and senses as doubtful. This sounds like the similar to the movie “The Matrix“,well guess what! This idea was the very basis of the story.
So as it can be seen here the philosophical conclusion of I think therefore I am caused many (sometimes outlandish) philosophical theories to pop up. So it can be said that this conclusion had a profound impact on philosophy.
Ever since he published his works, Descartes has been accused of being an extreme and fanciful thinker. In the 18th century, philosophers generally thought that his views were completely outrageous and even absurd. But over time, he has been recognized for asking questions that no one ever asked before, and that still preoccupy us today. Not only the relation between the mind and the body, but also the mind and the brain are both essentially Cartesian questions. Not to mention The Matrix!
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