Dear Friends,
Be Well.
David
The great illusion of the self
(Image: Darren Hopes)
As you wake up each morning, hazy and disoriented, you
gradually become aware of the rustling of the sheets, sense their texture and
squint at the light. One aspect of your self has reassembled: the first-person
observer of reality, inhabiting a human body.
As wakefulness grows, so does your sense of having a
past, a personality and motivations. Your self is complete, as both witness of
the world and bearer of your consciousness and identity. You.
This intuitive sense of self is an effortless and
fundamental human experience. But it is nothing more than an elaborate
illusion. Under scrutiny, many common-sense beliefs about selfhood begin to
unravel. Some thinkers even go as far as claiming that there is no such thing
as the self.
In these articles, discover why "you" aren’t
the person you thought you were.
WHAT ARE YOU?
The one and only you
There are flaws in our intuitive beliefs about what
makes us who we are. Who are we really, asks philosopher Jan Westerhoff
Read more
WHEN ARE YOU?
You think you live in the present?
Our brains create our own version of reality to help
us make sense of things. But this means we're living outside time, saysJan
Westerhoff
Read more
WHERE ARE YOU?
Trick yourself into an outer-body experience
Your mind isn't as firmly anchored in your body as you
think, says Anil Ananthaswamy. Time for some sleight of hand
Read more
WHY ARE YOU?
Why are you like you are?
You're so vain, you probably think your self is about
you, says Michael Bond. The truth is slightly more complicated
Read more
PSYCHOLOGICAL DISORDERS
When the self breaks
That seamless sense of who you are can be disturbed by
many things, including illness, injury or drugs, explain Anil Ananthaswamy
andGraham Lawton
Read more
THE END?
What are we to do?
Our perception of our self might be an illusion, like
free will, says Richard Fisher. But that doesn't mean we can't learn from it
R
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