Dream and Existence: the Descartes' s cogito in The Circular Ruins by J. L. Borges

Abstract

In this paper, we will read the story by Jorge Luis Borges, "The Circular Ruins" included in Fictions, on two different levels: as a philosophical argument and as a symbol or allegory. The thread of our inquiry will be links between the dream and existence that unfold through the Borges ´s fiction. We will do so through a counterpoint with another text, far away if you want, but as each text inhabits fuzzy interstices in which all text is opened, is so close to the "circular ruins" like any other. This is the classic Cartesian locus for a philosophical argument that the link between dream and existence makes pivot point