Same as I ever was...
Thoughts on "I think therefore I am"…
Recently I read an article on the Descartes "I think therefore I am" idea and the law of non-contradiction. I forget where I saw the article (probably Evolution News) but the idea was that "I think therefore I am" isn't actually right because it assumes that you already understand that to make a conclusion you must exist. Pre-existence comes before thinking and so on. But I was thinking about it in a different way. We all know that we live in human bodies and there are literally thousands of things that occur every second that we are unaware of. That we don't think about at all. Your heart is beating and you are breathing and your cells are removing waste and you are digesting your last meal and a zillion other things. Your body (and mine) are alive and living really without us, without even our consent. Yes, we eat and do certain things that end up facilitating the life that we live in but we are not really involved in the maintenance of that directly. In fact, we have appetites and sensations that tell us what to do. We barely even manage the life that houses us. Isn't that fascinating? And as scientists learn more and more about the biology that supports us, they tell us that the things that our bodies do are almost unfathomably complex. The proteins and cells and the mechanics of life that are in our bodies are all according to an extremely intricate design and function autonomously without even our awareness. So, NOT ONLY are we intricately created but we are not responsible really for anything that supports our own existence other than to eat and eliminate wastes and to not jump out in fast traffic. We're not even talking about the processes that formed us. Did you ever read a book about all the things that have to happen in a mother's womb to create a living baby? It's intense and the mother is not aware of that really either. Oh, she can feel the baby kick after a certain point but she doesn't have to concentrate on building that little body. It's done for her! Remarkable really. It says to me that the soul (who you really are) and the body are obviously two disconnected things. Your body houses your soul and is a different thing than what YOU actually are. What would we say then, "I don't think yet I am?", sounds about right for the human race! Something or someone else outside of you clearly perpetuates your existence here in this place. It isn't "you"… If you are a philosophical type person feel free to further develop this, no charge… :)
SE December 2022
