What Hurts, Exists.
Cogito, ergo sum. I think, therefore I am. Anything that bears the gift of thought, can be said to exist. Essentially, existence is tied to intellect. I wholeheartedly disagree. Patior, ergo sum. I suffer, therefore I am. If we were to take an animal for example, we would first need to determine whether or not they ‘think’. If we take the scientific definition of thought as being ‘covert symbolic responses to stimuli that are either intrinsic or extrinsic’ then perhaps we can conclude that yes, they do think, to some extent. For instance, if a prey spotted their predator (acting as an extrinsic stimulus) and hence made the decision to flee, is that not thought? I would conclude that yes, it is. However, this is thought in its most basic form, arising from our most primal basic instinct: to survive. In terms of humans, thought is a more complex, detailed notion. Our thoughts are not merely rooted in survival. We are multi-faceted. The very fact of me writing this post is clear evidence ...