Friday, September 18, 2009

Descartes' "Discourse on Method"

It has been a while since I read any philosophy...so I made use of my friendly local library and picked up Descartes "Discourse on Method." I could not remember how the "cogito" argument went on. So here is the only way I can describe it, while not leaving too much out:

The argument for one's existence (The "Cogito" argument)
1. Even if we assume that there is a deceiver (look up Evil Demon argument), from the very fact that I am deceived it follows that I exist.
2. In general it will follow from any state of thinking (e.g., imagining, sensing, feeling, reasoning) that I exist. While I can be deceived about the objective content of any thought, I cannot be deceived about the fact that I exist and that I seem to perceive objects with certain characteristics. (The famous statement of this from D.'s Discourse on Method is "Cogito ergo sum." or "I think, therefore I am.")
3. Since I only can be certain of the existence of myself insofar as I am thinking, I have knowledge of my existence only as a thinking thing (res cogitans).
This shows that the contents of the mind are more easily known than the body. Which is a whole other argument.

Tuesday, September 1, 2009

The World's Highest Rapper


Did something unbecoming of my character this last weekend...I went to a rap "concert." Afroman, billed as "The world's highest rapper", came to town. It was a fun show, because I know a few of his songs. It was pretty funny to hear 200 people singing one of the dumbest songs I know at the top of their lungs, while Afroman himself was so baked that from 25 yards I could not see his eyes. Have you ever heard the stoner slang "Chinese Eyes"? I've never seen any one person so high in my whole life. That being the case, he didn't miss a word. Don't know how he did it, but that is the truth. And oh yeah, I was drunk as all hell...