Re: Your Brains
Aug. 23rd, 2007 08:57 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
blimixWhen I was a kid, I used to imagine this: What if, every time I fleetingly wished to be someone else (for I never seriously wished to be), it actually happened? Neither of us would ever know, because once I became them, I'd be where they are, in their body and with all of their memories. And whoever became me (because someone has to be me, though I hardly bothered myself with who, how or why) would think that they had always been me, occasionally making these silly wishes that (they thought) never came true.
This led naturally to the question of what defines identity. What could it possibly mean for me (my "self" or "identity") to physically become another person, if there's no actual change in the world? The very fact that the event of the wish coming true is indistinguishable from the wish not coming true, even to those involved, was very revealing! It led naturally to the idea that the distinction between our selves, other people and the rest of the universe is an artificial one. This was at least a decade before I was exposed to the same concept in Zen Buddhism. (Is it a generally Buddhist concept, or limited to Zen?)
(There is, in these thoughts, an inherent rejection of dualism. I could never bring myself to believe in a magical spirit that was my "essence" or "soul," which somehow interacted with my brain despite not being part of the physical universe (i.e., not really existing). I hope I haven't offended any dualists in the audience.)
This led naturally to the question of what defines identity. What could it possibly mean for me (my "self" or "identity") to physically become another person, if there's no actual change in the world? The very fact that the event of the wish coming true is indistinguishable from the wish not coming true, even to those involved, was very revealing! It led naturally to the idea that the distinction between our selves, other people and the rest of the universe is an artificial one. This was at least a decade before I was exposed to the same concept in Zen Buddhism. (Is it a generally Buddhist concept, or limited to Zen?)
(There is, in these thoughts, an inherent rejection of dualism. I could never bring myself to believe in a magical spirit that was my "essence" or "soul," which somehow interacted with my brain despite not being part of the physical universe (i.e., not really existing). I hope I haven't offended any dualists in the audience.)
(no subject)
Date: 2007-09-06 06:41 pm (UTC)I think most of what you say is true, but I think many people *would* put limits on what amount of changes they can undergo and maintain their sense of self, though what they are will vary from person to person. If you asked someone whether they were "the same person" as they were yesterday, the vast majority would say yes. If you ask an adult the same question about when they were six years old, I bet some will say yes and some will say no. If you ask the question of someone who's had severe head trauma that wiped out most of their memories, I bet many would say no. (I'm sure there's interesting psych papers on the latter case to be had somewhere...)
I guess my only point here is that it doesn't seem unreasonable to me to wonder to what extent *I* could deliberately change my own brain and maintain a continuous sense of self, were the technology available.
(That is, the technology to do it instantly and purposefully. To do it slowly is, as you more or less point out, usually called "personal growth".)