Tracing the Historical Development of Selfhood from Descartes through Kant and its Implications for the Contemporary Thought

Abstract

This paper critically discusses the trajectory of selfhood, marking its intellectual genealogy from René Descartes' cogito to Immanuel Kant's transcendental ego. It evaluates its far-reaching implications for the present. With Descartes' revolutionary statement, "I think, therefore I am," this paper focuses on this gentleman's place of eminence in securing this foundation for modern self-conceptualisation. It then proceeds to Kant's critical philosophy safeguarding the conditions of possibility for knowing and experiencing, refining, and expanding the Cartesian legacy. The paper then examines how Cartesian dualism and Kantian transcendental idealism have influenced modern notions of selfhood, guiding many aspects across epistemology, ethics, and cognitive science. In conclusion, the paper navigates not only through the philosophical journey from Descartes to Kant but even beyond its confinements into the implications that the theories of this era hold for the contemporary understanding of selfhood. It posits that the Cartesian and Kantian models, as much as they are historically distinct, collectively contribute to an appreciation of self that is more complex than their respective perspectives.