Final answer:
René Descartes' statement "Je pense, donc je suis" is translated to "I think, therefore I am" in English, which encapsulates his fundamental belief in the primacy of reason and the innate knowledge of one's existence through thought, laying the groundwork for his dualist philosophy separating mind and body.
Step-by-step explanation:
The French philosopher René Descartes originally wrote his most famous statement as "Je pense, donc je suis," which translates to "I think, therefore I am" in English. This profound assertion is at the heart of Cartesian philosophy, indicating that the very act of thinking is undeniable evidence of one's own existence. Descartes utilized this foundational statement as a starting point for his epistemological framework, which posits that knowledge could be acquired through reason alone, without relying on empirical experience. Applying this rationale, Descartes surmised that knowing something as simple as the fact that one plus one equals two is a function of reason, rather than personal experience.Further, Descartes' philosophy introduces substance dualism, distinguishing between the mind and the body as two fundamentally different substances: the thinking (res cogitans) and the extended (res extensa). Descartes associated the self with the mind or soul, which he argued could exist prior to and independently from the body, suggesting that human beings are not necessarily material or physical entities because they can conceive of themselves as thinking entities without the need to confirm the existence of a body. However, modern science has largely disagreed with the contention that thought can exist without a physical brain, providing substantial evidence that human cognition is rooted in the brain's structure and function.