Science of Self (Humans)

by David Turell , Sunday, March 09, 2014, 18:18 (3910 days ago) @ dhw


> dhw; I am almost certain, Romansh, that it was you who pointed out to us a long time ago ... as Hood does here ... that "illusory" does not mean something does not exist. It means that something is not what it seems. This is a very important distinction.-Excellent point.-> dhw: I would argue that the self does exist, and that everyone has the ability to take his or her own decisions in certain contexts ... if we make that a defining element of "free will" ... but that neither the "self" nor "free will" are as self-contained or as free as they appear to be. The combination of brain, body, environment and experience mentioned above clearly entails factors over which we have no control, and so both our identity and our ability to take decisions are under influences we may not be aware of. Nevertheless, that particular combination is what gives each of us our uniqueness, even if we do find it impossible to separate our "selves" and our decisions from the influences that have shaped and continue to shape them.-Your analysis is why Freud invented psychoanalysis, which has fallen out of favor for being too long, too expensive, and too involved, and is why directive psychotherapy and drugs are used so much now.