Dialectic · Tuesday, July 7, 2026
Cogito Ergo Sum
Early Modern Rationalism vs Empiricist Critique
The claim
"I think, therefore I am — the one thing I cannot doubt is my own existence as a thinking thing."
The premises that support it
- Whatever I clearly and distinctly perceive must be true.
- I cannot doubt that there is doubting going on.
- Therefore, there must be an 'I' that is the doubter — a thinking substance.
The counter-example
Lichtenberg's reply: 'It is thinking' is all we are entitled to say — as we say 'it is raining' without thereby committing to a rain-maker. The leap from 'thinking is happening' to 'I, a substantial self, am thinking' adds something not given in the experience.