Existentialism is something that philosophers have debated for centuries. As early as 430 BC, Socrates affirmed that “to be is to do”. In his famous play Hamlet, Shakespeare astutely posed the question “to be or not to be” when he questioned whether or not it is worthwhile to stay alive in light of the hardships of living. Rene Descartes approached the question from a different angle when he affirmed “Cogito ergo sum” (I think, therefore I am”). Near the end of the 19th century, J.P. Sartre, on the other hand, believed he had arrived at the right conclusion when he affirmed that “to do is to be”. Yet, as evidence by the photo attached on the right hand corner of this blog post, most people have mistakenly attributed the final answer to Frank Sinatra, “do-be-do-be-do”. At around the same time, however, Iwao Takamoto and co-producers were also proclaiming the exact same words in a famous American animated cartoon franchise under the guise of the well-known cartoon character Scooby Doo: “Scooby doo bee doo”.
