This article was conceived through the lens of Rene Descartes’ philosophy of being. In this
reasoning, thinking is a precondition for living, not the other way round. However, deeper
reflection persuaded me to take a less extreme view. Consequently, that change of point of view
necessitated a change of title as well. Thus, They Live, Who Think, being the original title under
which the piece was composed, gave way.
Descartes was a French Philosopher and Mathematician, whose philosophy was built on Cogito
ergo sum (I think, therefore I am). This formed a basis for his philosophy and undergirded his
reflections about life. Based on this reasoning, the ability to breathe seems not to be a condition
for living; thinking is. His critics and several other thinkers may hold dissenting views. Some
may think that his is an extreme view. However, few of these critics would contend consistently,
the centrality of thinking to being human. If this is true, and I am afraid it is, then Descartes
deserves commendation.
Often times, humans feel so familiar with some phenomena that they really do not get to
understand them beyond vague views which are held about them. More often than not, people
are quick to distinguish between human beings and animals just on the basis of the former’s
possession of language. Thus humans are satisfied that although animals communicate, they
achieve that through some other means, rather than language. It should be a cause for concern to
us that beyond the possession of language, the quality of the content expressed through the
language is almost as important as the language itself, if not more important. What this article
seeks to accomplish is the fact that thought or reason, in addition to language, distinguishes
between humans and animals. This fact should not be lost on all humans.
Whenever statements such as This is a reasonable way to do it, That is not reasonable, Are you
reasonable at all?, etc. are uttered, what the speaker is appealing to, is the addressee’s quality of
thought and formation of judgement about some things in that speech universe. To start from the
basis, the depth of thought being manifested in the recent times, especially by the children is
worrisome. More disturbing is it that some adults too are found in this category. Judged by the
way issues are handled and situations are responded to, there is the need to call attention to how
poorly matters of great concern are processed mentally. It is the conclusions reached through
such thinking that inform the decisions which eventually manifest in form of the actions we see.
This is the part one of the article, intended to set the tone for the topic. Thus, just one or two
instances will be treated in the next three paragraphs to make the point a little clearer.
Thinking is a culture that must be consciously developed. Like many other things, good thinking
should naturally start manifesting from apparently minor things and keep building up. For
instance, whether they are young or old people, their attitude to some things around us should
interest us. At times, people drink water and drop the sachet on the floor, even when there is a
container meant for the purpose of collecting such wastes. As trivial as that attitude could seem
to anybody, the thinking which produces it should not be encouraged because it is shallow.
Sooner or later, some fellows would be responsible for cleaning the mess. Those people who
would do the cleaning must be some persons’ mothers, aunts, nieces, cousins, etc. or some
persons’ fathers, uncles, nephews, etc. Had those who littered the floor thought deeply enough,
they would have understood the other fellows in the above lights. Somehow, this indifference or
wickedness, as the case may be, graduates from simply littering the environment to more serious
acts.
Good thinking should necessarily compel someone to make a reasonable move about actual or
potential forms of danger in their vicinity or others’ vicinity. Even if one is not likely to get
injured or electrocuted by a naked wire somewhere around people, they should not be
comfortable about leaving it. What about the sight of a protruding nail somewhere waiting for a
helpless foot? The foot that might unfortunately fall victim is first and foremost a human’s. The
owner of the foot must be a knot or node in a complex web of relationships; someone’s daughter,
son, brother, sister, niece, nephew, friend, neighbour, classmate, confidant, mentor, companion,
among others. Hmmm!
Our journey of reclaiming humanity begins from our ability to make such seemingly unimportant
connections between our actions and inactions. It would not be difficult to appraise oneself at
this juncture. People need to become reasonable. They need to become responsible. They need to
become thinking beings.
In the garden of words and thoughts, timelessness is courted!
Mewhenu Hosu,
Lagos State University International School, Ojo, Lagos State
mewhenu78@gmail.com
