Topics Knowledge

Question Well, during philosophy earlier this afternoon our class came upon the statement 'I do exist.' The majority of the class believed this was knowledge rather than an opinion. However I thought perhaps it could be an opinion, yet my teacher told me it had to be knowledge because we think therefore we must exist. I was wondering if anyone could come up with an argument that supports the idea that I do not exist. Any answers will be appreciated.

Accepted:
June 25, 2009

Comments

I could come up with an argument that you don't exist, but it would be harder for you to. Descartes' point is that even in doubting that I exist, I seem to presuppose that I actually do. Descartes claimed that in any moment when I reflect on it, I know for sure that I exist.

That said, this shows much less than it might seem to. In particular, it doesn't show that there is any unified "self" that has a continued, coherent existence over time. The existence of that sort of "I" has been doubted by many thinkers, going back at least to the Buddha, but also, famously, by David Hume and more recently by Derek Parfit. Views of this sort are sometimes called "bundle theories" because they replace the idea of a unified self with a picture according to which we are an ever-changing bundle of sensations and thoughts.

Here's a link to the section of Hume's Treatise in which he sets forth his views on the self. Enjoy!

http://www.mnstate.edu/gracyk/courses/web%20publishing/TreatiseI.iv.vi.htm