Je pense donc je suis
To many a college student this is Rene Descartes and
philosophy 101, proving existence that saying that we (“I) think; however,
there are two issues for concern here:
the first is the notion that doubt is not even being considered and the
second is the notion of assuming that “I” existed before we started thinking,
which in my opinion, is putting the cart before the horse. But, be that as it may, very few of us today
or any day concern ourselves with the idea that we exist, although much though
has been given to the notion of our purpose in life (or existence).
So, who are you and what do you know?
You would not believe how many blank looks I get
from my students when I ask this question, especially since they have never
been asked to think like this or even consider who they are, but it is
essential to becoming an entrepreneur or becoming anything for that matter,
whether it be a doctor or a lawyer or a construction worker or a nurse or a
mother or a father.
Another question that throws our mental processes
into a dither is “what does it mean to be human?” We might see that as only a religious or
spiritual question and to that I would say you would be wrong because to answer
this question is to lay the foundation for family, community, and country as we
govern and regulate ourselves.
While many of us deliberate over what type of
Christian they are or what type of faith they follow and while many of us
consciously explore politics and other social issues, few of us ever “toy” with
the notion of being human.
Is it because we simply take our existence for
granted? Or, is it so difficult to
discuss what it means to be human because it is so riddled with cultural,
religious, and social programming? And
yet, we are sentient beings, are we not?
Sentience is the ability to feel,
perceive,
or be conscious, or to experience
subjectivity. Eighteenth century philosophers used the concept to distinguish
the ability to think ("reason")
from the ability to feel ("sentience"). In modern western philosophy,
sentience is the ability to experience sensations
(known in philosophy of mind
as "qualia").
For Eastern philosophy, sentience is a metaphysical quality of all things that
requires respect and care. The concept is central to the philosophy of animal
rights, because sentience is necessary for the ability to suffer,
which is held to entail certain rights.
It also brings us right back to Rene Descartes…
All of this seems rather confusing which is why most
of us don’t even want to think about it at all, so I will ask a much, much
simpler question:
Are you happy or just content?
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