cogito ergo sum

(noun)

A Latin philosophical proposition by René Descartes usually translated into English as "I think, therefore I am." The phrase originally appeared in his Discourse on the Method. This proposition became a fundamental element of Western philosophy, as it purported to form a secure foundation for knowledge in the face of radical doubt. While other knowledge could be a figment of imagination, deception, or mistake, Descartes asserted that the very act of doubting one's own existence served—at minimum—as proof of the reality of one's own mind.

(noun)

A Latin philosophical proposition by René Descartes, the first modern rationalist, usually translated into English as "I think, therefore I am." This proposition became a fundamental element of Western philosophy, as it purported to form a secure foundation for knowledge in the face of radical doubt. Descartes asserted that the very act of doubting one's own existence served—at minimum—as proof of the reality of one's own mind.

Examples of cogito ergo sum in the following topics:

History of Cognition
- Maybe you've heard the phrase I think, therefore I am, or perhaps even the Latin version: Cogito ergo sum.
- It comes from the same root as the Latin word cogito, which is one of the forms of the verb "to know."
Rationalism
- For instance, his famous dictum, cogito ergo sum or "I think, therefore I am," is a conclusion reached a priori i.e., prior to any kind of experience on the matter.
Enlightenment Ideals
- Some historians and philosophers have argued that the beginning of the Enlightenment is when Descartes shifted the epistemological basis from external authority to internal certainty by his cogito ergo sum (1637).