I THINK THEREFORE I AM

2/28/10

In regards to the matter of blogging...

It dawns on me that linking up things I’ve written in the past with current events could be fodder for a blogging blurb.

Therefore, in reference to the recent article in the N.Y. Times...

about one of Descartes letters being found, I hereby submit the following originally written in 1967.

HOW DESCARTES ARRIVED AT HIS

PHILOSOPHICAL STATEMENT

Descartes' search for a simple explanation of his philosophy had been formulating in his mind for a long time, but how exactly to state it precisely and concisely eluded him. However, one night as he struggled with the problem it came to him in a flash in the following way;

It was very late, the deepest part of the night. There were scraps of paper scattered about with notes scrawled on them; half finished sentences, marked through words; the detritus of forging an idea's existence.

His roommate, on a bed directly behind his desk, lay fast asleep. Descartes, weary from the mental frustration, rubbed his eyes, yawned and leaned back in his chair. Losing his balance, he fell over backwards, and crashed against his roommates bed. Awakened suddenly, his roommate sat up and seeing Descartes sprawled on the floor said, "What the hell's going on?"

Picking himself up off the floor Descartes replied, "I was stretching and leaned back too far in my chair and it tipped over. Sorry."

"Well, what time is it anyway?" the roommate asked.

“I think it's 4:00 a.m.,” Descartes replied.

"What did you say?”

“I said 'I think it's 4:00 am’"

“Oh…” answered his roommate,

“That makes more sense… I thought you said

‘I think, Therefore I am.’”