Descartes proved that the ‘I think therefore I am’ is true, using introspection as proof. His idea was very simple but very clever. He argued that since we always seem to experience ourselves thinking, then we must be conscious beings. He said that we can only be sure that other people experience thoughts like ours if they say they do. This method of proving something is called Introspection. However, Descartes did not prove that people truly had minds, he just assumed that they did. Common sense here might persuade people to consider everyone to have the same sort of mind and exhibits consciousness but this does not provide anyone with sufficient grounds to believe they have. Suppose beings – what philosophers call zombies – who showed external signs of consciousness but don’t have a mind. No human determine whether it’s really a zombie or a man because one can never be sure of other people’s mind and consciousness.
Introduction
How do we really define Philosophy? The Greek word φιλοσοφία – Philosophia. Or as the term has been coined by modern Western language – Philosophy. The literal meaning of this word is relatively static. Derived from its Greek origin it comprises two separate words...
