What is the flaw in the cogito?
Interesting.

This isn’t the place to elaborate, but briefly:
The essence of the cogito is not the inference from the premise “I think” to the conclusion “I exist.” That could also be done on the basis of the premise “I walk” or “I love.” Its foundation is that the premise “I think” is necessary in itself (its negation leads to a contradiction). And if the premise is necessary, then the conclusion that follows from it is necessary as well. In this way the cogito differs from “I walk, therefore I exist,” because “I walk” is not necessary, and so although the conclusion does indeed follow from it, it is not necessary.
True, “I walk” or “I love” is a true claim in itself, but it is the result of observation and not a claim that is necessary in and of itself. Descartes was looking for an argument that would prove a factual claim (“I exist”) without the need for observation, but rather in a way that is self-compelled (a priori).
One must understand that Descartes’ goal was not to prove a person’s existence, but to show that rationalism is possible—that is, that factual conclusions can be derived from a purely logical argument.
Now let us consider: why is “I think” necessary? Two possibilities can be raised: 1. Because its opposite, “I do not think,” is itself also a thought. I think that I do not think. 2. Because engaging in the cogito itself (bringing it to mind) is a thought.
Option 2 is of no help, because it is basically the result of observation of myself: I am engaging in the cogito. In that respect there is no difference from “I walk,” and although it is true, there is no necessity here. As stated, that was not his goal in this argument.
Option 1 mixes levels: if I do not think, that does not necessarily mean that I think that I do not think, but simply that I do not think (for example, if I do not exist, it is also true to say that I do not think). This is not another thought; rather, there is no one here who thinks at all. And if you appeal to the fact that he really is thinking—we are back to a claim whose basis is empirical, and again that is not what Descartes wanted.

But in the end, it still sounds from what you’re saying that the cogito proves that “something” exists. It’s just not what Descartes was trying to claim. Because even if the experience deceives me, there is still an “I” that it deceives.

So the cogito, which claims that “something” exists, still stands up to criticism—just not by way of pure rationalism. Because even if we claim that all knowledge that I think comes in an empirical way, it still comes to me, even if by way of deception.
So at least we have one stable thing in life—I exist 🙂

Is awareness of the experience achieved from within the experience itself [direct awareness], or is it achieved as a result of the experience’s reaction?
According to the first option, a kind of paradox emerges, since the experience knows itself, and the subject has become an object; however, according to the second option, it comes out that there is no relation, because awareness arrives only after the action [determinism]?
Thanks.

Cordial, I didn’t understand. If you believe your observations, then what do you need the whole argument for? Do you really have any doubt that you exist? You experience yourself, therefore you exist. You walk, therefore you exist. You sit, therefore you exist. I already explained why none of this saves the cogito.

Aviya, this distinction is what Ron Aharoni is dealing with. Take it from there and from those columns of mine mentioned above.

Even if I don’t believe any of my experiences, I am still compelled to believe that I exist, for even “I do not think” is itself a thought that I think that I do not think.
So true, it comes in an empirical way, but even the skeptic has to admit that he himself at least exists, even if his senses deceive him.

I’m claiming that the argument is valid even for the skeptic. Because even the claim that I do not think drags a thought behind it.
So the argument is valid even for the skeptic, to believe that he exists.