Descartes's smartphone: the "luxury" of thinking in modern times.

in #mindset5 years ago

Thinking is the center of human existence

Think of Descartes in seventeenth-century France when he said "Cogito ergo sum", that famous "I think therefore I am". That therefore in the sentence is the most interesting part. He doesn't say "I think and I exist", he doesn't even say "as I am, then I think". For Descartes rational activity (thinking) was not derived from existence; quite the opposite. "I exist because I think"; that is, thinking is the basis of our existence. The question I ask myself now is: If I don't think, then do I exist?.
Let's do an imaginative exercise, not lacking in reality. Let's take a look at the world today. Humanity has achieved unprecedented technological advances and some totally unimaginable centuries ago. Leonardo Da Vinci, an advanced man for his time, left the principles of the helicopter and an endless number of advances that became concrete centuries later. Jules Verne, in his fictions, told a feat that seemed mere fantasy and that in the twentieth century managed to realize: the arrival of man to the moon.

The giant and flat screens had already been projected by the dystopian novels of Orwell, Huxley and Bradbury, in prophetic works where the advanced technology of the future was proposed as a tool at the service power abuses. But none of them, nor the brilliant minds of those years, could conceive, for example, the scope of the Internet, or the current smartphones with their innumerable applications that are updated and overcome almost daily, in a dizzying race against equipment obsolescence, whose useful life is determined by the appearance of the most recent model. We know all that, we live it. It's not a reality alien to us. Now, let's put the imaginative part: take Descartes, that seventeenth-century French philosopher and let's draw it-into the 21st century. Let's sit him at the food fair of a mall, put a smartphone in his hand and wait to see his reaction. What would he do? and, above all, what would he say about us?

At present, any calculation, however simple, is entrusted to our phone (or a calculator); any exercise of memory is a waste of time, because Google can take us out of doubt at any time, and if it is a personal memory, it will surely have a photo, a note, a chat, some "proof", all duly filed on our phone. And if we always have it there, within reach, why memorize it? And there is something even more serious: any knowledge we want to keep, will be virtually archived in an image, a pdf, a note, etc., so why reading Don Quixote for classes if I can get a summary of its arguments? Why reading a novel if the movie already exists? Why wasting time "thinking nonsense things" if I can use time to play on the PlayStation?

Reasoning led us to the science that produced this technology, but now it's used to increase our comfort and ironically, it's distancing us from that reasoning that originated it. We are stopping thinking! Our cognitive problems are delegated to our machines: laptops, smartphones, computers, there are all the answers. Humanity has never had greater volume of knowledge or greater degree of ignorance. For the most part, TV shows, film productions, music, video games, everything that surrounds us, have only one objective: entertainment. Entertainment has become a norm, an obligation, rather than a right or a complement. In a chaotic, messy, problematic world, people have decided to evade reality through the culture of fun and have chosen only to "have a good time".

I'm not saying it's wrong to have a good time, of course not. What is detrimental is to dedicate ourselves entirely to what should be only a part of our lives. What do we do in our free time? go to a soccer game, watch TV, check social networks, read portals or entertainment magazines ... but how many of us read books? and of those few, what do we read? and how many of us take time to think? Thinking has become a luxury, an activity exclusive to scientists or smart people over there in NASA. Most of society just wants to feel comfortable, at ease, and thinking is uncomfortable. Why? because the philosophical questions don't have a single answer that you can confirm in Google.
What happens when we die? what is the truth? What are the limits of tolerance, of freedom? where do we come from? Where are we going? And this: what is the meaning of life? are questions that have no concrete or simple answers, but whose approach and analysis allow us to know ourselves and "When you get to know yourself, you are able to understand others and the reality that surrounds you" according to a quote attributed to Alexander the Great.

Philosophy is still a completely human area, because although the first robot in the world with a recognized citizenship and passport has already been built, it is called Sophia and is able to recognize faces, tell jokes and have a conversation, nobody can think for other person. Neither Google, nor Siri, nor Sophia can think for us. The use of reason is still a human prerogative of which we should make use. We live in an era in which it seems to be true that "the more intelligent our computer is, the more foolish we are" (words of Mario Vargas Llosa). These technological tools that simplify life to us, making it more comfortable, are also simplifying our minds, turning us into automaton slaves under the command of our own creation. Returning to the scene of Descartes in the mall, after having seen all this we've seen, having witnessed our slavery under the dominion of the lords smartphones and having been an anachronistic witness that we are not exercising our reason, that we're not thinking, what do you think he would do with the phone we delivered him? If we approach with this question: Monsieur Descartes, if we don't think, do we exist? What do you think he would answer? and even more important what do we think of ourselves?

Reviewed by @cristiancaicedo


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hi @cristiancaicedo
what you propose is a very complex subject and will probably be the subject of studies for generations. The world has changed, there is nothing to do, technology advances and swallows us, almost without us realizing it. maybe we don't even remember when there was no cell phone or computer.
But it is fundamental not to be trapped by it, we teach our children the beauty of exploring and discovering, we are learning something new every day, not lobotomizing your brain and not being slaves of technology but masters.
There's more to the TV box, the computer or the iPhone, there's a world outside. I agree with you: open the window wide, open your eyes. Nature, beauty and art are there for us, to heal our weary soul from the boring routine, from useless noise, from sad feelings.
So let's take a walk to the beach in winter, organize that trip to the mountains with friends, take our daughter to look at the infinite stars, buy a flower and give it to those we love.
congratulations on the curie vote and thanks for sharing with us

That "not being slaves of technology but masters" was perfect. It's all about that. Thank you for your comment and for reading me. Greetings.

Very compelling post, indeed, @cristiancaicedo.
You are posing the questions every educator (espcially in 3rd world countries) and parent should be asking, and you are providing a very solid and hard-to-argue-against answer.

Our existence, form the intellectual perspective is solely defined in terms of how much do we use our brain, how much of an impact do we make in the world of ideas around us (and you don't have to be a published author to do this), how much do we ponder about our daily occurrences, how much do we question what happens around us and what tools do we use to do the questioning? How well can we arfue a cause?
You go out in the street of Venezuela (any street, in any town) and you'll see people (especially of the "old" generation) avidly and vociferously arguing one thing or another, from sports, to religion, to politics, of course. But, the way they construct, if they ever articulate it coherently, an argument is almost a parody of our dear Cantinflas.
That is one serious matter for any culture. People argue verbally and even fight physically about things they don't know or understand, or about things that could have been avoided, had them been expressed clearly.
Now, the "new" generation will rarely be seen, especially in public places, engaging in any discussion, especially of the relevant kind. They would be burried in their smart phones letting the machine drive them.
Thus, I could ot agree more with you
We are probably the dumbest human generation, despite the outrageous amount of accumulated knowledge we have access to.
The sad thing is that while the masses entertain and selfie about it, the powerful get even more power and make sure their heirs will keep controling the masses. They are the ones doing the thinking and the masses re just making it easier for them to dominate.

That's a great complement to the post. "We are probably the dumbest human generation, despite the outrageous amount of accumulated knowledge we have access to" it's so sad but so true. Thank you for taking the time to read my words and make this valuable contribution.

My pleasure. Thank you for your outstanding original content

Hey, great criticism of our current society.
If I am honest, I also use social media, television and my phone way too much. On my way to work I have to use the subway, 80 % of the people sit there listen to music, watch a video or scroll their social media profiles.
But I also think it is a personal task to reflect on your actions and realize that you might utilize technology too much or in a "bad" way.
Great article and very interesting choice of topic.
Cheers,
max

I must be part of that other 20%, then. Of course is a personal task, I'm only saying what I think. Opinions are a personal thing, they're not the ultimate truth or anything. Some people may think this way of using technology is the norm in current times, or something like that, and to them that would be good. But I like to think, to analyze, to wonder. Thank you for reading and for your comment. Cheers.

What a unique blog, honestly I did not know about the great mathematician, might have studied some of his work in school but forgot.

The guy was clearly ahead of his times in saying 'therefore'

He was indeed. You should look up for him. Thanks for your support.

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