FGV 2026.2Questão 35de 60DESCARTES FINDS A WAY TO PROVE HIS OWN EXISTENCE 1. The single most famous proposition in the history of philosophy is
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DESCARTES FINDS A WAY TO PROVE HIS OWN EXISTENCE
- The single most famous proposition in the history of philosophy is one put forward [proposta, apresentada] by the French mathematician and philosopher René Descartes (1596-1650): Cogito ergo sum. It's Latin for "I think, therefore I am." It represents a radical solution to the problem of radical doubt first put forward by the ancient Greek Skeptics [Céticos]—how can we be certain that anything we know is true?
- In Meditations of First Philosophy, published in 1642 and considered the starting point of modern philosophy, Descartes set himself [impôs a si mesmo] the task of putting his own knowledge on a firm foundation. To do that, he decided, he must doubt everything that it is possible to doubt, and to accept as true only those things of which he can be absolutely certain. He starts with the evidence of his senses. Those can deceive, no? The sun, for instance, is in fact much larger than it appears to be. And while he may believe that he is sitting near the fire, how can he be sure he's not dreaming it? So "knowledge" based upon the senses must be discounted. Then he considers things that he thinks he knows through his thought processes—for instance, that 2 plus 3 equals 5. But how does he know that a demon isn't making him mistake false thoughts for self-evident truths?
- It's at this point that Descartes arrives at his only certainty—he knows that he exists, because someone must be thinking his doubting thoughts. "While I wanted to think everything false," he concludes, "it must necessarily be that I who thought was something." At last he had found his rock. "This truth, 'I think, therefore I am,' was so solid and so certain that all the most extravagant suppositions of the Skeptics were incapable of upsetting it." To this day, "Cartesian Doubt" shapes the discussion of knowledge and what we really know about it.
Adapted from Time magazine's 100 Ideas That Changed the World
With respect to René Descartes, which of the following is most likely not supported by the information in the article?
- Alternativa A, a correta: He revealed the great flaw inherent in a line of philosophical inquiry that had begun with the ancient Greek Skeptics.Resposta
- Alternativa B: He was a brilliant philosopher who did not completely deny the existence of demons.
- Alternativa C: He could not guarantee that everyone who seemed to agree with the proposition "Cogito ergo sum" actually existed.
- Alternativa D: He was unable to refute his own existence.
- Alternativa E: By trying as much as possible to doubt the existence of everything, he developed one of the founding ideas of modern philosophy.
O que a questão pede: a afirmação sobre Descartes que não é sustentada pelo texto.
Etapa 1. O papel de Descartes diante dos céticos: o parágrafo 1 diz que o "Cogito ergo sum" "represents a radical solution to the problem of radical doubt first put forward by the ancient Greek Skeptics" (representa uma solução radical para o problema da dúvida radical proposto primeiro pelos antigos céticos gregos). Descartes resolveu o problema dos céticos; o texto não diz que ele revelou uma falha na linha de investigação deles. A alternativa (A) não tem apoio.
Etapa 2. Conferindo as demais, que têm apoio:
- (B) Ele considerou a hipótese: "how does he know that a demon isn't making him mistake false thoughts...?" (como ele sabe que um demônio não o faz tomar pensamentos falsos...?); ou seja, não descartou a existência de demônios.
- (C) Sua "only certainty" (única certeza) era a própria existência; a dos outros ficava em dúvida.
- (D) "he knows that he exists, because someone must be thinking his doubting thoughts" (ele sabe que existe, porque alguém precisa estar pensando seus pensamentos de dúvida): não conseguiu refutar a própria existência.
- (E) Ele decidiu "doubt everything that it is possible to doubt" (duvidar de tudo de que é possível duvidar), e a obra é "the starting point of modern philosophy" (o ponto de partida da filosofia moderna).
Resposta: alternativa A.
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