Question

In the second episode of the fourth season of the show “Southpark,” Kyle Broflovski is shown reading and discussing Descartes’ Meditations on First Philosophy. He gets fairly anxious about what he reads, exclaiming, “Dude! This book says I don’t exist unless I think I do. But what if I don’t?!?” He is worried that if he stops thinking that he exists, then he will cease to exist. Toward the end of the episode, he manages to convince himself that his existence is an illusion and he disappears.

Have the creators of Southpark accurately represented Descartes’ argument here? Why/why not? Explain your answer in a short (4-8 sentence) paragraph.

Answer 1

Descartes says that we exist because we can think. Senses mislead us. But through medication we realize our self. Man is a thinking thing. This realization helps us to perceive the existence of God. The cause of our existence is God. The realization of truth takes place through meditation.