Single Idea 7119

[catalogued under 11. Knowledge Aims / B. Certain Knowledge / 5. Cogito Critique]

Full Idea

When Descartes says 'I doubt therefore I am', is he talking about the spontaneous doubt that reflective consciousness grasps in its instantaneous character, or is he talking of the enterprise of doubting? This ambiguity can lead to serious errors.

Gist of Idea

Is the Cogito reporting an immediate experience of doubting, or the whole enterprise of doubting?

Source

Jean-Paul Sartre (Transcendence of the Ego [1937], II (B))

Book Reference

Sartre,Jean-Paul: 'The Transcendence of the Ego' [Routledge 2004], p.27


A Reaction

Interesting. The obvious response is that it is about the immediate experience, but that leads to the problem of an instantaneous ego, which can't be justified over time. The 'enterprise' gives an enduring ego, but it is a more intellectual concept.