Cogitations

Descartes's Cogito ergo sum is one of the best-known of all philosophical formulations, but many philosophers have found it problematic. Katz proposes that the "Cogito" should be understood as an example of "analytical entailment".

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Arguing that the problem with Descartes' Cogito ergo sum - a famous but controversial philosopical dictum - lies in a deficiency in the theory of logic and language that Cartesian scholars have brought to the study of the Cogito, Katz here proposes that the Cogito be understood as an example of 'analytical entailment', a thesis according to which a statement can be a formally valid inference without depending on a law of logic.