While sailing through Latin waters, I anchored at another famous quote — one that perhaps resonated with me precisely because I had recently finished the philosophical snack Philo Fiction by Jiří Beňovský. What stayed in my mind were the words of René Descartes and his reflections on the world around us — a world that may or may not be a dream. From there, it did not take much for another paraphrase to emerge, naturally continuing in the spirit of the previous article.
I do not wish to bore everyone with a lengthy academic lecture, so let us briefly explain both the original quote and the new one from a linguistic perspective. The original phrase, “Cogito, ergo sum,” means “I think, therefore I am.” We will explore its deeper meaning in the following section, but for now I simply want you to let these words sink in for a moment — words that influenced countless philosophers, politicians, as well as film writers and directors. Yes, even The Matrix or Vanilla Sky were not entirely original ideas in this regard :-)
After a longer period of research and wandering through related references in philosophy and history, I had to smile, because understanding Descartes’ mind is truly an intellectual challenge. And so, quite naturally, my own paraphrased quote came into existence:
Rideō, ergo sum.
I laugh, therefore I am.
Cogitō, ergo sum
As already mentioned, the original idea was formulated by Descartes in Discourse on the Method in 1637, in the southern Netherlands. During a time of inquiry and rationalization following periods of war across Europe, Descartes — influenced in part by the skepticism of Michel de Montaigne — turned toward questioning everything that could not be demonstrably explained or verified through proof.
This ultimately led him to question even his own existence and whether we might simply be living within a dream. Yet through this deep process of thought, he arrived at the conclusion that the mind itself is proof of our existence.
I think, therefore I am.
His influence on civilization remains relevant even today. In the chaos of information spread across social media and countless other media channels — information that is increasingly difficult to filter — perhaps we should remind ourselves of the foundations of modern science and rational inquiry.
It was precisely in Discourse on the Method that Descartes laid down principles of investigation and scientific thinking that remain valid not only in professional life, but in everyday life as well.
Five Rules of Thinking
Let us briefly revisit four fundamental principles for approaching truth and understanding the real world around us. I will not quote Descartes word for word, but instead try to “humanize” the meaning of his method.
1. Dubita et verifica! — Doubt and verify!
In other words, we should not immediately accept something new and unverified as truth. We should avoid rushing toward premature conclusions. In Czech, we have a proverb roughly equivalent to “Measure twice, cut once,” which essentially expresses the same idea.
Whether this saying arose as a consequence of Cartesian rationalism is difficult to say. During my own reading, I found no direct connection.
2. If a problem seems too complicated, divide it into smaller problems.
Those smaller parts are usually much closer to being solved, and the entire process becomes significantly easier to understand.
3. Move from simpler questions toward more difficult ones.
To use an analogy from my own field — do not try to understand how a continuous prestressed beam works if you still do not understand how a simple beam works.
4. Form conclusions only after reviewing everything explored so far.
Only then can you approach a problem as a whole and identify possible contradictions or weak points.
5. And I would add one more principle.
Descartes never explicitly described this one, but if you discover contradictions or uncertainties in the fourth step, the entire process must begin again from the start — this time enriched by new knowledge and broader connections.
Rideō, ergo sum
It is fascinating how the mind finds its way toward topics that remain strikingly relevant today. In an era of fake news, populist governments, and a world so complex that many people search for simple and comforting explanations, perhaps we should once again remember the words of Descartes — a man who helped shape where science and civilization stand today.
The entire process of knowledge is accompanied by mistakes and blind paths, something we already touched upon in the previous article. Yet it is also accompanied by the awareness that the process itself could never exist without our presence, patience, and a sense of perspective carried with a smile.
And so, it is impossible not to end where I began.
Rideō, ergo sum.
I laugh, therefore I am.
I am here to make mistakes, to learn, and to discover the world with perspective and a smile on my face.
Sources
DESCARTES, René. Discourse on the Method. Prague: Svoboda, 1992.
DE MONTAIGNE, Michel. Essays. Translated by Václav ČERNÝ. Prague: Odeon, 1966.
BEŇOVSKÝ, Jiří. Philo Fiction: Stories from the Underworld of Philosophy. Prague: Dokořán, 2025. ISBN 978-80-7675-198-9.
Online. In: Wikipedia – Cogito ergo sum. Wikimedia Foundation. Accessed 2026-05-24.
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