Dr. GURU speaks,
What is the Self?...
Who am I?...
What is it that makes me different from another person?...
An off-the-cuff response might be that you are unique because of your individual identity…your appearance, life, memories, views and opinions set you apart from others.
As Descartes points out, our perception and understanding of the Self can only be done through intellectual reasoning, not through our senses (ophthalmic, tactile, auditory, olfactory, or gustatory). Let us then begin by cleaning away the debris of misconceptions…
If you take the example of an oak tree, from shrub to its full glory, most would say that we have the same oak from one point of time to another in its life. It would seem absurd to say it was a different oak tree through different parts of its natural life, even though its’ constituent atoms, molecules, and cells have changed.
What of a tidal wave? Or a cloud that streams off the summit of Everest? Most would say it was the same wave or cloud moving from one point to another. Through both, water particles are constantly changing with others. Their physical composition is in constant flux, and yet we still consider it to be the same entity. The problem stems from the need to give a word to the phenomena we see. But in using words they take on their own meaning and entity, often regardless of what is actually happening in the phenomenon. Some might argue that the oak tree differs from the cloud and wave in that it maintains at least most of its particulate matter, just as you and me would be the same if we were to lose a limb. Take then the ship of Theseus…
Theseus goes on a long voyage, and in the course of it bits of his ship need replacing. In fact, by the end, he has tossed overboard used sails, spars, rigging, planks, and replaced them all. Does he come back in the same ship? We would probably say so. But suppose some entrepreneur goes round behind him, picking up the discarded bits, and reassembles them. Can’t the entrepreneur claim to have the original ship?
I raise this issue because we too are in this constant particulate flux. Our bodies continually regenerate, renew, and replace our constituent cells. If this is complicated, then the Soul is bewildering.
What allows a person to keep their individuality from childhood to old-age? Most would say that it is their unique memories of their lives. However, this suggestion has the uncomfortable consequence that we cannot survive complete amnesia. Indeed, what of partial amnesia?...is such a victim a different person at these different times? Current state law would side with the affirmative, even if that ‘different person’ had acted in an uncharacteristic manner. But, are there not many moments in all people’s lives where they act uncharacteristically and have no recollection of it? Yet we do not all consider ourselves to have multiple-personality disorders. Most would sensibly say that we are the same person developing and evolving through life, not able to recall every single decision or act. This line of reasoning suggests that we are rarely aware of our own selves.
If we throw away ideas of physical mass and memory, then what we have left is the internal monologue in our heads. Who you are, and how you behave, depends on the way you talk to yourself and what you talk about. This is all that is left after everything else is stripped away. This is the soul.
The GURU must now sleep.