Q&A: The Cogito and the Ontological Argument
Originally published:
This is an English translation (via GPT-5.4). Read the original Hebrew version.
The Cogito and the Ontological Argument
Question
Have a good week,
True, in your book The First Being you showed that Anselm’s argument is not ontological, and therefore the emptiness of the analytic remains in place. But what about Descartes’ cogito? Seemingly it is ontological in the strictest sense, and the analytic is not quite so empty. In your view, does the cogito really succeed in bringing about the rationalist miracle in its full force?
Answer
In my opinion, no.
There have been a few discussions here about this. For example, this one:
https://mikyab.net/%D7%A9%D7%95%D7%AA/%D7%94%D7%95%D7%9B%D7%97%D7%AA-%D7%94%D7%A7%D7%95%D7%92%D7%99%D7%98%D7%95-%D7%A9%D7%9C-%D7%93%D7%A7%D7%90%D7%A8%D7%98