1. Cogito Ergo Sum; “I think, therefore I am.” This only says that
our minds exist, somewhere and in some form or another. It
does not prove that our bodies, as humans exist and so “I feel,
therefore I am” might be a better way of proving our existence
as a whole.
We all feel sensations and emotions, like a soft pillow under
our heads as we lie down to sleep after what we felt was a
very exhausting day. Pain when we burn our tongue drinking a
hot cup of coffee to relax our nerves. Fear before the big jump
off the diving board and exhilaration as the wind whips through
our hair, falling quickly toward the awaiting water. Absolute
happiness as we open presents on Christmas morning and the
pain of slicing our finger on the sharp edge of the wrapping
paper. The combination of emotions and sensations tells us
that we are truly living; when we stop feeling all these things it
tells us our life has ended.
I believe that if we weren’t in control of our lives and not
truly living for ourselves we wouldn’t feel all these things. In
virtual realities there may be “emoticons” that we can use to
show how we are feeling through our character we control, but
the character itself does not feel these emotions. Puppets do
not feel the strings moving them, but if we were to be tied to
strings and moved not of our own accord we would feel the
forced movement and the emotions that go along with having
our actions controlled. When our characters in role playing
games are injured they do not feel the pain that come with it.
Some would argue that we don’t actually know the puppet
does not feel the strings or the characters in our games don’t
feel the emotions and pains. This is true, but even the most
controlled person will show they’re emotions and express
what they are feeling some of the time. A twitch of the mouth
at something painful, the crinkle at the corner of the eye at
something humorous or even a slow breath to calm us when
it’s just too much to handle are some very small but true ways
of showing our feelings.
Again some would argue that in some games, characters
would express emotions when they are injured or happy, sad,
etc. They may express what we might feel if that were to
happen to us, but if you pay close enough attention to them
when they do so, you can tell that this is “programmed” into
them and not something they are actually feeling for
themselves. Among humans there are some of us that are
perceptive enough to tell when the smile is faked, or the tear
rolling down someone’s cheek is not genuine. Programmers

2. today can simulate emotions in game characters the same
way we can pretend to be happy when all we want to do is cry.
This does not mean they can give the character emotions, only
program fake emotions into them.
As for cogito ergo sum, we do think for ourselves and make our
own decisions in life. If someone were controlling us and we
had no say in what we did or thought, we would not have
doubts, fears or make compulsive decisions based off of our
gut instinct and emotions.
This project in itself proves that we think for ourselves in
my opinion. We must explain why we think we do or do not
exist. Everyone has they’re own opinion on cogito ergo sum and
their own beliefs about they’re existence because they are
just that; they’re own.