Philosophers

What did Descartes mean by saying "I think, therefore I am?"

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Here's a simple (maybe even simplistic!) answer:

"I think" is Descartes's first axiom.

"I am" is his first theorem.

Descartes was seeking propositions that could not be doubted. He determined that the most indubitable one was "I think", on the grounds that, even if he were being deceived and was not really thinking—if, that is, he only thought that he was thinking—then he was still thinking! (Either I am really thinking or I only think that I am thinking; in either case, I am thinking.)

He then decided that he could derive from that starting point (that axiom) the proposition that he, who was thinking, must exist in order to think.

Some of his critics have suggested that a more cautious "theorem" to derive from "I think" is: thinking is going on (not necessarily that he is thinking or that he who thinks exists).

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