Single Idea 3160

[catalogued under 11. Knowledge Aims / B. Certain Knowledge / 4. The Cogito]

Full Idea

The Cogito is a transcendental argument; Descartes doesn't claim that it is a priori that he exists, but that any doubt or denial that he exists would presuppose his existence.

Gist of Idea

The Cogito is a transcendental argument, not a piece of a priori knowledge

Source

comment on René Descartes (Meditations [1641], §2.26) by Georges Rey - Contemporary Philosophy of Mind 3.2.1

Book Reference

Rey,Georges: 'Contemporary Philosophy of Mind' [Blackwell 1997], p.78