Once again, a reader has asked me, “Do you think your dogs
talk to you?” So, it’s time, again, to
address that.
This is actually a two part question, and I’ll discuss the parts individually.
The first part, “Do you think?” is a question with which philosophers have wrestled since ancient times, and I doubt we’ll reach a conclusion today. But, first, yes, I think I think, but you see, there’s the pesky circular reasoning. One cannot conclude that one thinks without saying, “I think I think.” Not very helpful. Famously, Frenchman Rene Descartes put it, “Cogito ergo Sum,” (I think, therefore I am.) though why a Frenchy would resort to Latin is beyond me. The French language is obscure enough without going all ancient speak on us.
In any case, this question has always been a philosophical rumble in the streets. The deep (or shallow, depending) question is one of actual existence and reality. Is thought the immaterial response to a material world, or is a material world the product of immaterial thought? I don’t suggest wrestling with that unless you have at least a six pack of a nice Ale, or a bottle of an adequate Chianti near to hand.
This is actually a two part question, and I’ll discuss the parts individually.
The first part, “Do you think?” is a question with which philosophers have wrestled since ancient times, and I doubt we’ll reach a conclusion today. But, first, yes, I think I think, but you see, there’s the pesky circular reasoning. One cannot conclude that one thinks without saying, “I think I think.” Not very helpful. Famously, Frenchman Rene Descartes put it, “Cogito ergo Sum,” (I think, therefore I am.) though why a Frenchy would resort to Latin is beyond me. The French language is obscure enough without going all ancient speak on us.
In any case, this question has always been a philosophical rumble in the streets. The deep (or shallow, depending) question is one of actual existence and reality. Is thought the immaterial response to a material world, or is a material world the product of immaterial thought? I don’t suggest wrestling with that unless you have at least a six pack of a nice Ale, or a bottle of an adequate Chianti near to hand.
The point is, we will not reach any definitive answer to
this, and thus, must leave the first part of the two-part question to future
philosophers to attempt to unravel.
The second part of the question: “(Do) your dogs talk to you?” is easier.
Yes, they do.
The second part of the question: “(Do) your dogs talk to you?” is easier.
Yes, they do.
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