Descartes' cogito as it's called, was derived from his attempt to break down all beliefs to their most basic, self-evident form-- "simple natures". He felt that if a statement could be doubted, it could not be true. Emotions, feelings, the senses, he associated these with the body and believed that all bodily things had to be transcended to become completely rational, to reach true knowledge. He explains how to do all this in his Meditations. I think it's the first meditation that includes the Cogito, but I might be wrong.
Emily Dickinson reveled in the senses. I don't think her meditations would have included the denial of the body, the emotions, perceptions, as necessary to truth. She was after a different type of truth.
Interestingly, bertrand Russell objected to the cogito on the grounds that "I think" is an assumption because it already has assumed existence and so is circular. ANd you could just as easily say, "Ambulo, ergo sum" or "video, ergo sum."
Boy, nothing is sacred.
I have no idea why one line of poetry by one of America's most beloved poets has upset you so badly that you keep bringing it up, as it might hold the key to the meaning of life. |
