HUMA 1160 Study Guide - Midterm Guide: Fathom, Cogito Ergo Sum
1 Apr 2014
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Document Summary
The cogito ergo sum is both clear and distinct and is a sentence that cannot be contradicted. The validation of the sentence is preserved through its denial being both illogical and self contradictory. Descartes states in his second meditation that we must come to the definite conclusion that this proposition: i am, i exist, is necessarily true each time that i pronounce it, or that i mentally conceive it (med ii, descartes). Descartes is saying that the cogito ergo sum is completely true and nothing can change that fact. Descartes says that the denial of clear and distinct ideas is self-contradictory, like if a person were to state something and deny it at the same time. However in a sentence that is clear and distinct two parts are necessarily connected and cannot be separated, this occurs in sentences where the subject and predicate are synonyms.
