--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Descartes said, \"I think, therefore I…" description: "\"Descartes said, \"I think, therefore I am.\" I say, \"I do not think, that is why I exist.\"\" — Taisen Deshimaru" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c11/taisen-deshimaru-20366_said_descartes-said-i-think-therefore-i-am-i_2052113.jpg" --- # Descartes said, "I think, therefore I am." I say, "I do… ![“Descartes said, "I think, therefore I am." I say, "I do not think, that is why I exist."” quote by Taisen Deshimaru](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c11/taisen-deshimaru-20366_said_descartes-said-i-think-therefore-i-am-i_2052113.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c11/taisen-deshimaru-20366_said_descartes-said-i-think-therefore-i-am-i_2052113.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c11/taisen-deshimaru-20366_said_descartes-said-i-think-therefore-i-am-i_2052113.jpg) > “Descartes said, "I think, therefore I am." I say, "I do not think, that is why I exist."” [Taisen Deshimaru](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/taisen-deshimaru/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Questioning existence by denying thought highlights the absurdity of defining self solely through cognition. **In simple terms:** Denying thought to question existence shows identity isn’t just thinking. Key Takeaway Explore identity beyond mental activity. Themes philosophy existentialism identity skepticism Mood thoughtful provocative Type philosophical dialogue When to use this quote - personal introspection - debates on consciousness - mind‑body discussions Key Concepts consciousness self‑concept logic Questions to Reflect On - Do you define yourself by thoughts or actions? - What non‑cognitive aspects shape your identity? A Different Perspective Negating thought may overlook the role of feeling and instinct in self‑definition. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Descartes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/descartes/) [Metaphysics](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/metaphysics/) [Thinking](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/thinking/) ## Related quotes > [“That is why I don't believe much in what Mr. Descartes said: "I think, therefore I am." 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I have arms…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-orwell/i-think-i-exist-he-said-wearily-i-am-conscious-of-my-own-identity-i/) [George Orwell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-orwell/) > [We always find something, eh Didi, to let us think we exist?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samuel-beckett/we-always-find-something-eh-didi-to-let-us-think-we-exist/) [Samuel Beckett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samuel-beckett/) > [“You do not exist. I think I exist. I am conscious of my own identity. I was born, and I shall die. I have…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-orwell/you-do-not-exist-i-think-i-exist-i-am-conscious-of-my-own-identity-i/) [George Orwell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-orwell/) > [The problem is we think we exist.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/natalie-goldberg/the-problem-is-we-think-we-exist/) [Natalie Goldberg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/natalie-goldberg/) ## More by Taisen Deshimaru > [You must concentrate upon and consecrate yourself wholly to each day, as though a fire were raging in your hair.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/taisen-deshimaru/you-must-concentrate-upon-and-consecrate-yourself-wholly-to-each-day/) [Taisen Deshimaru](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/taisen-deshimaru/) > [We feel our shell keeps us safe, but it crushes us and others, and keeps out light and sun.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/taisen-deshimaru/we-feel-our-shell-keeps-us-safe-but-it-crushes-us-and-others-and/) [Taisen Deshimaru](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/taisen-deshimaru/) > [We should learn to think with our fingers.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/taisen-deshimaru/we-should-learn-to-think-with-our-fingers/) [Taisen Deshimaru](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/taisen-deshimaru/) > [Human beings are afraid of dying. They are always running after something: money, honor, and pleasure. But if you had to die now, what…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/taisen-deshimaru/human-beings-are-afraid-of-dying-they-are-always-running-after/) [Taisen Deshimaru](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/taisen-deshimaru/) > [Harmonizing opposites by going back to their source is the distinctive quality of the Zen attitude, the Middle Way: embracing contradictions, making a synthesis…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/taisen-deshimaru/harmonizing-opposites-by-going-back-to-their-source-is-the/) [Taisen Deshimaru](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/taisen-deshimaru/) > [The body moves naturally, automatically, without any personal intervention or awareness. If we think too much, our actions become slow and hesitant.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/taisen-deshimaru/the-body-moves-naturally-automatically-without-any-personal/) [Taisen Deshimaru](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/taisen-deshimaru/) > [From your first day at school you are cut off from life to make theories.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/taisen-deshimaru/from-your-first-day-at-school-you-are-cut-off-from-life-to-make/) [Taisen Deshimaru](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/taisen-deshimaru/) > [You cannot separate any part from the whole: interdependence rules the cosmic order.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/taisen-deshimaru/you-cannot-separate-any-part-from-the-whole-interdependence-rules-the/) [Taisen Deshimaru](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/taisen-deshimaru/) > [Think with your whole body.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/taisen-deshimaru/think-with-your-whole-body/) [Taisen Deshimaru](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/taisen-deshimaru/) > [Nobody today is normal, everybody is a little bit crazy or unbalanced, people's minds are running all the time. Their perceptions of the world…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/taisen-deshimaru/nobody-today-is-normal-everybody-is-a-little-bit-crazy-or-unbalanced/) [Taisen Deshimaru](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/taisen-deshimaru/) > [If you have a glass full of liquid you can discourse forever on its qualities, discuss whether it is cold, warm, whether it is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/taisen-deshimaru/if-you-have-a-glass-full-of-liquid-you-can-discourse-forever-on-its/) [Taisen Deshimaru](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/taisen-deshimaru/) > [During zazen, brain and consciousness become pure. It's exactly like muddy water left to stand in a glass. Little by little, the sediment sinks…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/taisen-deshimaru/during-zazen-brain-and-consciousness-become-pure-it-s-exactly-like/) [Taisen Deshimaru](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/taisen-deshimaru/) > [You have to practice until you die.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/taisen-deshimaru/you-have-to-practice-until-you-die/) [Taisen Deshimaru](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/taisen-deshimaru/) > [Zen is not a particular state but the normal state: silent, peaceful, unagitated. In Zazen neither intention, analysis, specific effort nor imagination take place.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/taisen-deshimaru/zen-is-not-a-particular-state-but-the-normal-state-silent-peaceful/) [Taisen Deshimaru](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/taisen-deshimaru/) > [The silence of the mountain is even more beautiful once the birds are quiet.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/taisen-deshimaru/the-silence-of-the-mountain-is-even-more-beautiful-once-the-birds-are/) [Taisen Deshimaru](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/taisen-deshimaru/) [Explore all 28 Taisen Deshimaru quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/taisen-deshimaru/) ## More Descartes quotes > [It may be said that the conceptions of differential quotient and integral, which in their origin certainly go back to Archimedes, were introduced into…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sophus-lie/it-may-be-said-that-the-conceptions-of-differential-quotient-and/) Sophus Lie > [It is actually a nice question how far Descartes himself endorses the monological and metaphysically dualistic theory of mind associated with his name and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/allen-w-wood/it-is-actually-a-nice-question-how-far-descartes-himself-endorses-the/) [Allen W. Wood](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/allen-w-wood/) > [“Descartes gave sight to the blind. These saw the errors of antiquity and of the sciences. The path he struck out is since become…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/voltaire/descartes-gave-sight-to-the-blind-these-saw-the-errors-of-antiquity/) [Voltaire](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/voltaire/) > [“Starting from Descartes’ commitment to a few absolutely certain innate ideas and reason’s ability to determine some facts about reality a priori, Leibniz ended…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lee-braver/starting-from-descartes-commitment-to-a-few-absolutely-certain-innate/) [Lee Braver](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lee-braver/) > [“For the mind depends so much on the temperament and disposition of the bodily organs that, if it is possible to find a means…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ren-descartes/for-the-mind-depends-so-much-on-the-temperament-and-disposition-of/) [René Descartes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ren-descartes/) > [Descartes's epistemology is a special case of Aristotle's virtue ethics.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ernest-sosa/descartes-s-epistemology-is-a-special-case-of-aristotle-s-virtue/) [Ernest Sosa](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ernest-sosa/) > [Perhaps people need to understand some history here. Rene Descartes, in the late 16th, early 17th century, postulated that body, mind, physicality and spirituality…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edgar-mitchell/perhaps-people-need-to-understand-some-history-here-rene-descartes-in/) [Edgar Mitchell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edgar-mitchell/) > [“Agnosticism, in fact, is not a creed, but a method, the essence of which lies in the rigorous application of a single principle. That…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-henry-huxley/agnosticism-in-fact-is-not-a-creed-but-a-method-the-essence-of-which-2/) [Thomas Henry Huxley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-henry-huxley/) > [Descartes is rightly regarded as the father of modern philosophy primarily and generally because he helped the faculty of reason to stand on its…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arthur-schopenhauer/descartes-is-rightly-regarded-as-the-father-of-modern-philosophy/) [Arthur Schopenhauer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arthur-schopenhauer/) > [“Descartes walks into a bar, and the bartender asks "Would you like a beer?" Descartes replies, "I think not" and poof! he vanishes.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/various/descartes-walks-into-a-bar-and-the-bartender-asks-would-you-like-a/) Various > [“Descartes had somehow managed to use skepticism in service of orthodoxy; he preserved crucial shards of church doctrine—the immortal soul, for starters—while buying intellectual…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/franklin-foer/descartes-had-somehow-managed-to-use-skepticism-in-service-of/) [Franklin Foer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/franklin-foer/) > [“logic limits love, which may be why Descartes never married.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-robbins/logic-limits-love-which-may-be-why-descartes-never-married/) [Tom Robbins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-robbins/) > [For someone who claimed to have found the true method for seeking reliable knowledge, it is remarkable how wrong Descartes was about so many…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steven-weinberg/for-someone-who-claimed-to-have-found-the-true-method-for-seeking/) [Steven Weinberg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steven-weinberg/) > [A long time ago, Descartes sad, “I think, therefore I am.” But if you are not thinking, what?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/seungsahn/a-long-time-ago-descartes-sad-i-think-therefore-i-am-but-if-you-are/) [Seungsahn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/seungsahn/) > [To do is to be. -Descartes To be is to do. - Voltaire Do be do be do.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frank-sinatra/to-do-is-to-be-descartes-to-be-is-to-do-voltaire-do-be-do-be-do/) [Frank Sinatra](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frank-sinatra/) [Browse all 80 Descartes quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/descartes/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "Descartes said, \"I think, therefore I am.\" I say, \"I do not think, that is why I exist.\"", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Taisen Deshimaru" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/taisen-deshimaru/descartes-said-i-think-therefore-i-am-i-say-i-do-not-think-that-is/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Descartes" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/taisen-deshimaru/descartes-said-i-think-therefore-i-am-i-say-i-do-not-think-that-is/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c11/taisen-deshimaru-20366_said_descartes-said-i-think-therefore-i-am-i_2052113.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c11/taisen-deshimaru-20366_said_descartes-said-i-think-therefore-i-am-i_2052113.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c11/taisen-deshimaru-20366_said_descartes-said-i-think-therefore-i-am-i_2052113.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“Descartes said, \"I think, therefore I am.\" I say, \"I do not think, that is why I exist.\"” — Taisen Deshimaru", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } }, { "@type": "BreadcrumbList", "itemListElement": [ { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 1, "name": "Home", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 2, "name": "Quotes", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 3, "name": "Taisen Deshimaru", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/taisen-deshimaru/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "Descartes said, \"I think, therefore I...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/taisen-deshimaru/descartes-said-i-think-therefore-i-am-i-say-i-do-not-think-that-is/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/taisen-deshimaru/descartes-said-i-think-therefore-i-am-i-say-i-do-not-think-that-is/#breadcrumb" }, { "@type": "WebSite", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "publisher": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } }, { "@type": "Organization", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "logo": { "@type": "ImageObject", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/themes/sq/assets/icons/icon-512.png", "width": 512, "height": 512 } } ] } ```