This quotation is a subtle allusion to Rene Descartes's famous quote "I think, therefore I am." Descartes was the first philosopher to try to defeat skepticism and arrive at a set of fundamental principles that no one can doubt. He felt that the senses were limited, and that what was in one's mind was what mattered the most. Orwell picked this quotation because Descartes was the opposite of Big Brother and The Party. Rather than history being fluid and malleable, Descartes wanted fundamental, stable truths. Descartes was in strong support of human thought and emotion, much unlike Big Brother and The Party. Orwell made this reference to suggest that thought and stable truths are important.
Sources: "Rene Descartes." Catholic Encyclopedia. Web.
<http://www.newadvent.org/cathen /04744b.htm>.
"Rene Descartes." Wikipedia. Web.
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ren%C3%A9_Descartes>.
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