About “Erogito”

“I think, therefore I am”

Erogito – from the Latin  < ērogitō, ērogitāre,> to find out by asking, to inquire.

More recently, the term erogito has been used to denote a type of learning system based on questioning and shared experiences. Much like  early classical philosophers, we believe that students learn best by questioning and sharing experiences that enhance concepts introduced in the texts and classroom.

This type of questioning, or doubting, characterized the writings of Reneé Descartes, a French philosopher who died shortly before the Restoration of the English Monarchy. However, his writings and empiricist thought greatly influenced later European and Enlightenment philosophers such as Hobbes, Locke, Hume, and Rousseau. In fact, today Descartes is often mentioned as the “Father of Modern Philosophy”.

While Cartesian thought was considered problematic to religious philosophers in England, Descartes’ writings foreshadowed Enlightenment discussions  on the relationship between human nature and rational thought. Thus, in the spirit of Descartes and the sweeping changes taking place in the English Isles and throughout Europe during the long eighteenth-century (1660 – 1785), this blog will focus on providing a portal to artistic, literary, political and social issues as they evolved not only in Europe, but throughout Europe and the Atlantic colonies .

You are invited to doubt anything and everything before determining what you believe or how you respond to Restoration and Neoclassical literary texts. Take nothing for granted, and always use your mind well.  Great literature, like long voyages, is not as much about reaching a destination, as learning from the journey.

 – Jo Anne Harris