The Cartesian Other is the counterpart to the Cartesian Self

Cartesian Self

In philosophy, the Cartesian Self is the counterpart to the Cartesian Other. According to Descartes, there is a divide intrinsic to human consciousness, such that one cannot ever bridge the space between one's own consciousness and that of another....

. According to Descartes, there is a divide intrinsic to human consciousness, such that you cannot ever bridge the space between your own consciousness and that of another.

This "other" is in essence theoretical, since one cannot ever be empirical

Empirical

The word empirical denotes information gained by means of observation or experimentation. Empirical data are data produced by an experiment or observation....

ly shown such an "other."

Put differently, Descartes concluded cogito ergo sum

Cogito ergo sum

is a philosophical Latin statement proposed by . The simple meaning of the phrase is that someone wondering whether or not they exist is, in and of itself, proof that something, an "I", exists to do the thinking — However this "I" is not the more or less permanent person we call "I"...

, "I think, therefore I am," that is, that the presence of a self of which to speak (an "I") proves its existence to oneself; however, according to his Wax Argument, one could never similarly demonstrate the existence of the "other."