B. Mitchell
K. Hamstra
Philosophy RGC
19 June 2003
"For as long as I think; for it might perhaps happen, if I totally ceased thinking, that I would at the same time completely cease to be."
-Rene Descartes, Meditations on First Philosophy: Meditations I and II (Descartes, 26)
I agree with Descartes' statement. In order to experience the world in its entirety, we must be able think. Without the ability to reason, human beings are just another animal. In order to distinguish themselves from other animals humans think and reason. Certainly other animals think, but not many on nearly the same level as humans. Other species think and reason almost universally only in order to fulfill an immediate goal, such as hunger or shelter. Humans on the other hand have the ability to plan for great periods of time, including decades and centuries. It is apparent in everyday life that we must be able to think in order to carry on meaningful and full lives.
English: PET scan of a human brain with Alzheimer'...
Thinking
Human cheek cellsThis is evident in every facet of society and in every demographic group, to be successful people must have the ability to think on a higher level.
It has been said by some psychologists that the human brain's power is equivalent to a football field full of computers. To imagine the capabilities of such a powerful device is boggling. Yet, even some of the most intelligent people of all time used less than twenty percent of their brains. Some of the most powerful minds known to man were really only fractions of the brain's true ability. It would be prudent for mankind to remember this fact and explore methods to utilize this as of yet under-used resource. Society's belief that in order to be alive we must be able to think is expressed...