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The Philosopher's Shirt

Cogito Ergo Sum - Ugly Xmas Sweater

I think, therefore I am — the one thing Descartes could not doubt, now surrounded by reindeer in full festive knitwear styling.

Proper knitted-pattern chaos, exactly as the format demands. The whole range here, from apparel through to accessories, all printed to order. An ugly Christmas sweater gift for philosophy students. I think, therefore I am wearing this to dinner.

Questions about this design

What does the Cogito Ergo Sum ugly Christmas sweater design show?
Descartes’ most famous sentence, Cogito Ergo Sum, set in knit-look letters between rows of Christmas trees, zigzags and snowflake stitches – the full ugly-sweater treatment. The joke is that the one certainty Descartes could not doubt now comes with festive knitwear. I think, therefore I am wearing this to dinner.
What does cogito ergo sum mean?
Cogito ergo sum is Latin for I think, therefore I am. It is René Descartes’ first certainty – even if everything I believe is mistaken, the very act of doubting or thinking proves that I, the thinker, exist. Descartes used it as the bedrock on which to rebuild knowledge after doubting everything else.
Where did Descartes write I think, therefore I am?
First in French, as je pense, donc je suis, in Part Four of the Discourse on the Method (1637). The Meditations on First Philosophy (1641) give the argument as I am, I exist, without the famous formula. The Latin ego cogito, ergo sum appears in the Principles of Philosophy (1644), Part One, article 7.
What is Cartesian doubt?
Cartesian doubt, or the method of doubt, is Descartes’ strategy of treating every belief that could possibly be false as if it were false. In the first of his Meditations (1641) he doubts the senses, then whether he is awake at all, then even mathematics. Whatever survives this test can serve as an absolutely certain foundation.
Why did Descartes doubt everything?
Not because he was a sceptic, but to defeat scepticism. Having found that much of what he had learned was unreliable, he wanted a foundation for science that no doubt could shake. Systematic doubt was the tool for finding it – his search for one firm point from which all knowledge could be rebuilt.
What is Descartes’ evil demon argument?
In the First Meditation Descartes imagines a supremely powerful and cunning deceiver who uses all his energy to mislead him, so that the sky, bodies and even simple arithmetic might be illusions. The thought experiment pushes doubt to its limit. Yet even a perfect deceiver cannot make him doubt that he exists while he is being deceived.
Did anyone say I think, therefore I am before Descartes?
The idea has precursors. Augustine argued in The City of God (Book XI, chapter 26) si fallor, sum – if I am mistaken, I exist – and Avicenna’s Floating Man thought experiment made a related point. Descartes knew of Augustine’s argument but used it for a different purpose, as the starting point of a complete system.
What is Cartesian dualism?
Cartesian dualism is Descartes’ view that mind and body are two different substances – the mind a thinking, non-extended thing, the body an extended, non-thinking thing. It follows from the cogito, since he could be certain of his mind before being certain of any body. How two such different substances interact became the classic mind-body problem.
Is this a good ugly Christmas sweater for philosophy lovers, students or teachers?
Yes, it is one of the few ugly Christmas sweaters that rewards a second look. The festive pattern works at any office party, while philosophy students, teachers and anyone who has read the Meditations will get the joke instantly. The design comes as a sweatshirt and as a mug for the desk.