Who Am I? What Kind Of Question Is That?

There is an old joke that goes like this:

Rene Descartes is in a bar. The bar tenders says, “Want another drink?” Descartes says, “I think not.” and he disappears.

The joke intends to be funny for people who know the famous quoted from Mr. Descartes:

"Cogito, ergo sum" Which is Latin for: “I think; therefore I am.” ~Rene Descartes

Descartes phrase was part of his philosophical treatise attempting to prove the existence of God. Apparently he felt that before he could prove God exists he had to prove that he himself existed.

The line is so cute and pithy that it has given birth to a lot of take off lines:

I get mail; therefore I am. ~Scott Adams

I shop, therefore I am. ~Tammy Faye Bakker

I think; therefore, I am the center of the universe. ~Craig Bruce

I think that I think, therefore I think that I am... - Ambrose Bierce

I think, therefore I am. I think. - George Carlin

I eat, therefore I am. - Garfield, The Cat

I think therefore I am is the statement of an intellectual who underrates toothaches. - Milan Kundera

I am because my little dog knows me. - Gertrude Stein

I think, therefore Descartes exists. - Saul Steinberg

I actually had a tattoo applied to my upper right arm that reads: Cogito Ergo Pingo, which I'm told is Latin for: I think therefore I paint.

There must be several hundred humor attempts based on the Descartes quote. For me, it is not my existence that weighs on my mind, it is my identity. Who am I? What is a person even asking when they ask, “Who am I?”

I’m not asking my name, or who my parents are, so what am I after?

I think I’m wondering is I matter. What is there about me that matters? Do I have value? Am I love-able?

Why am I the way I am? Well, I used to be different. ~Tom Sizemore

But why would anyone ask such a thing? Do we expect mama, or Jesus, or some Guru to step up and whisper some words into our ear and we go “Oooooh,” with an exhaling breath and a smile on our face?

I exist. I’m going to just take that one for granted. At my birth I had the same value and the same worthlessness of any other person that lives or has lived. But if I wanting to know if I matter, or have value, or am important, or lovable, or talented, I won’t find that answer from the words of someone else. My identity is the one I create for myself.

The self is not something one finds, it is something one creates. ~Thomas Szasz