7.2k views
2 votes
How can Descartes' famous declaration cogito ergo sum (I think, thus I exist) be translated into predicate logic, considering the challenge posed by Kant's assertion that existence is not a predicate, and how does the formalization align with Kurt Gödel's ontological proof for God?

User Hvtilborg
by
7.5k points

1 Answer

4 votes

Final answer:

Rene Descartes' famous declaration, cogito ergo sum (I think, thus I exist), can be translated into predicate logic as ∃x(P(x)): There exists an x such that x thinks. However, this formalization does not align with Immanuel Kant's assertion that existence is not a predicate. Kurt Gödel's ontological proof for God is a separate argument.

Step-by-step explanation:

Rene Descartes' famous declaration, cogito ergo sum (I think, thus I exist), can be translated into predicate logic as follows:

P(x): x thinks

∃x(P(x)): There exists an x such that x thinks

This formalization captures Descartes' argument that the act of thinking proves the existence of the self. However, Kant's assertion that existence is not a predicate presents a challenge to this formalization. According to Kant, existence cannot be included as a property of something within the idea itself.

Therefore, although the statement ∃x(P(x)) expresses the existence of thinking, it does not necessarily align with the concept of existence as understood by Kant.

Gödel's ontological proof for God, on the other hand, is a separate argument that attempts to prove the existence of a perfect being. It is not directly related to Descartes' declaration or Kant's critique of existence as a predicate.

User Jon Guiton
by
7.5k points