The First Principle of Understanding

My friends, to convey my message to you I must first show you that nothing in existence is certain. Instead what we believe to be the truth, or certain, is only that which we understand the most. One certainty proposed by the French philosopher Rene Descartes was, “I think, therefore I am.” This seems to be absolutely certain, because if we can think, our thoughts, no matter what existence they may be in, whether they are even correct or not exist because they are ours. However this statement is not as concrete as it would appear, to think means one has to have thought, so thought can be substituted for think, “I thought, therefore I am.” However to have thought does not verify present existence, one may have thought in the past, but can that person still be thinking now, but of course if you have thought, then that means you did exist, so the phrase becomes, “I thought therefore I was.” This statement holds just as much truth as Descartes, and means almost exactly the same thing. However it is possible to think now what was thought before. I understand this may seem complex, but I will explain this further to you. From what I understand of the mind all things which we see, feel and experience are catalogued in the memory, and that is how we believe things have happened. Furthermore that which we can create in our mind are combinations of words, meanings experiences, and other such things that we form with our own personal touches. If my understanding of this mental process is enough to be considered a truthful statement then everything in life becomes memory. Then it becomes possible to think that one could relive their own life if the consciousness does not die with the body. Then, in such a circumstance, the thoughts which are believed to be thought at that very moment are actually just thoughts remembered as one relives their life through memory. This may or may not be the case after death, but the point of this example is to illustrate that even our thoughts are not even certain. We may have thought them in the past, but at this very moment it is not absolute whether they exist or existed earlier. Therefore, “I think, therefore I am,” is not absolutely certain.
The one other aspect of life Descartes and many others will argue to be absolutely certain is mathematics. However, math does carry within it flaws, and imperfections where certainty is not absolute. One plus one arguably always equals two, and 1 is always 1, 2 is always 2, 4 is always 4, and 5 is always 5. However there are times where one isn’t always one and five is not always five. I will of course demonstrate this to you. Take 4.999 repeating to infinity. It approaches five, but never actually gets there, though the difference may be smaller and smaller each time. Therefore 4.999 repeating to infinity is absolutely not five. However, when 4.999 is multiplied by ten, then subtracted from ten times itself, (49.999-4.9999) the infinite nines are eliminated and it becomes forty nine minus four. This yields forty five, and because it was ten times four point nine subtracting one times four point nine, the answer is nine times four point nine repeating, however when divided by nine, this progression yields 5. This equation, which breaks no laws of mathematics, says that four point nine repeating actually equals five. This then, is not absolutely certain, five is not absolutely five if four point nine repeating is five as well. Though this may be only one mathematical phenomenon that illustrates a lack of certainty, it does prove, that even math is not absolutely certain.
The way in which I have disproved both “I think, therefore I am,” and mathematics to be absolutely certain was through my understanding of the human mind, and the subject of math. I am in no way an expert in either field, but it is beneficial to me to have an understanding of them both. I do not hold Descartes or any other philosopher in contempt for attempting to find something that is absolute in existence. It is in fact something that we all seek something that makes living seem worthwhile, and the things which we do in life seem fruitful. The only absolute I am willing to present to you however, is that nothing is absolute. This might seem discouraging, but if you consider it, it is actually quite liberating. If we look at ourselves and define our lives by that which we do, then we attempt to say that we are absolutely craftsmen, or absolutely teachers, or absolutely doctors. Instead it is much more gratifying to say, “I am more than just a craftsman, I am more than just a teacher, I am more than just a doctor, I am all that I understand myself to be, and even more which I may discover.” There is always more to everything in existence, and by never accepting something for what it seems to be, and attempting to understand all that it can be, we may never lose wonder within the world, and can move closer to attaining true knowledge. This is my first principle of understanding, that there is always more to be understood.