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Full Idea
To know that one exists is not to know anything about oneself any more than knowing that 'this' exists is knowing anything about 'this'.
Gist of Idea
Knowing I exist reveals nothing at all about my nature
Source
A.J. Ayer (The Problem of Knowledge [1956], 2.iii)
Book Ref
Ayer,A.J.: 'The Problem of Knowledge' [Penguin 1966], p.52
A Reaction
Descartes proceeds to define himself as a 'thinking thing', inferring that thinking is his essence. Ayer casts nice doubt on that.
| 19461 | Knowing I exist reveals nothing at all about my nature [Ayer] |
| 19459 | To say 'I am not thinking' must be false, but it might have been true, so it isn't self-contradictory [Ayer] |
| 19460 | 'I know I exist' has no counterevidence, so it may be meaningless [Ayer] |
| 19464 | We only discard a hypothesis after one failure if it appears likely to keep on failing [Ayer] |
| 19462 | Induction passes from particular facts to other particulars, or to general laws, non-deductively [Ayer] |
| 19463 | Induction assumes some uniformity in nature, or that in some respects the future is like the past [Ayer] |