“The ‘I think, therefore I am’ of Descartes, the ‘I feel, therefore I am’ of late eighteenth century Romanticism, and the ‘I possess therefore I am’ of bourgeois man are dogmas, partial at that, incorporated to define a being that is incapable of defining itself.”

—  John Carroll

Source: Break-Out from the Crystal Palace (1974), p. 40

Adopted from Wikiquote. Last update June 3, 2021. History

Help us to complete the source, original and additional information

Do you have more details about the quote "The ‘I think, therefore I am’ of Descartes, the ‘I feel, therefore I am’ of late eighteenth century Romanticism, and th…" by John Carroll?
John Carroll photo
John Carroll 58
Australian professor and author 1944

Related quotes

René Descartes photo

“I doubt, therefore I think, therefore I am.”
Cogito, ergo sum.

René Descartes (1596–1650) French philosopher, mathematician, and scientist

Variant: Dubito, ergo cogito, ergo sum.

(English: "I doubt, therefore I think, therefore I am")

“With Descartes the Cogito ergo sum [I think, therefore I am] turns into Cogito ergo res sunt</i”

Étienne Gilson (1884–1978) French historian and philosopher

I think, therefore things are
Methodical Realism

George Carlin photo

“I think I am, therefore I am. I think.”

George Carlin (1937–2008) American stand-up comedian

Books, Napalm and Silly Putty (2001)

“In wanting to kill himself, a man wants only to kill his consciousness of pain. I think therefore I am; therefore if I am not, I cannot think.”

Antonella Gambotto-Burke book The Eclipse: A Memoir of Suicide

Source: The Eclipse: A Memoir of Suicide (2004), P. 54.

René Descartes photo

“I think, therefore I am.”

René Descartes (1596–1650) French philosopher, mathematician, and scientist

Je pense, donc je suis.
Le Discours de la Méthode (1637)
Variant: I think, therefore I am.

Vanna Bonta photo

“I am, therefore I think.”

Vanna Bonta (1958–2014) Italian-American writer, poet, inventor, actress, voice artist (1958-2014)

Degrees: Thought Capsules and Micro Tales (1989)

“His statement to himself should have been 'I possess this now, therefore I am happy', instead of what it so Victorianly was: 'I cannot possess this forever, therefore I am sad.”

John Fowles book The French Lieutenant's Woman

Source: The French Lieutenant's Woman

“Philosophy, which formerly raised man to feel conscious of himself because he was a thinking being and to say, ‘I think therefore I am,” now raises him to say … “I think, therefore I am not,” (unless he takes thought into consideration only in that humble region where it is confused with action).”

Julien Benda (1867–1956) French essayist

Source: Treason of the Intellectuals (1927), p. 149

“I think, therefore I am… confused.”

Benjamin Hoff book The Tao of Pooh

Source: The Tao of Pooh

Karlheinz Deschner photo

“I think, therefore I am … not a Christian.”

Karlheinz Deschner (1924–2014) German writer and activist

Ich denke, also bin ich kein Christ.
Bissige Aphorismen, S. 35

Related topics