Descartes in the Desert - An argument
By well-wisher
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What if Descartes was going through the desert, starving for water, and saw a mirage of water then scooping up the imaginary water started to drink it to satisfy his thirst?
It may taste like water.
It may smell like water.
It may look and feel like water.
But would it make his thirst go away?
No. Only real water would satisfy Descartes thirst. It is the ability of water to satisfy thirst or food to satisfy hunger that distinguishes it from the dream or illusion of water and food.
More on Hunger, Thirst and Satisfaction
Hunger, thirst and satisfaction are examples of thoughts that I cannot help thinking. I do not decide to think, "I am hungry"; I do not decide to think, "I am thirsty" or decide to be satisfied. So not all thoughts that I have are under my control and yet it is certainly I who is hungry, I who is thirsty and I who is satisfied. Thus, part of who I am is an unthinking being and so Descartes statement "I think therefore I am" is an incomplete description of "I". I am more than a thinking being; I am also a thirsting, hungering, lusting, craving being.
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