tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8960461886422045710.post3272908434102638114..comments2023-03-28T06:42:07.143-07:00Comments on BRSBKBLOG: Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11293501236307284859noreply@blogger.comBlogger2125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8960461886422045710.post-5317221017548199302013-03-26T08:15:23.035-07:002013-03-26T08:15:23.035-07:00What is reality? are we just a brain in a jar? it&...What is reality? are we just a brain in a jar? it's getting a bit philosophical! I do recommend the Self Illusion and beer, lots of beerAnonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11293501236307284859noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8960461886422045710.post-25051460665744771992013-03-26T06:59:44.904-07:002013-03-26T06:59:44.904-07:00Self is a fascinating subject - obviously. Self as...Self is a fascinating subject - obviously. Self as illusion or not, and maybe it is, my experiences in writing has helped me clarify the idea that 'self' is only a part of 'me', that the conscious mind is only a part of my mind in the same way that my body, as I perceive it, is not the whole body - there's an enormously complex and important interior of which I am generally unaware and do not control.<br /><br />So there are a couple of things I think are odd about the current round of studies on what 'self' is - first that the the conscious self-aware self is an intermittent thing (we're only aware when we're aware, so we think we are a continuum) that is layered onto other mental structures that are of great importance, and that they are also part of my mind - I just don't have direct access to them. However, these studies all appear to make the assumption that everythign else going on in the brain is somehow not part of 'me'.<br /><br />Second, if the self is a construct then so are all the sensory qualia - colour, taste, emotion. Everything we feel and experience is as made up as our own thoughts and opinions on those experiences. <br />Nothing is real. <br /><br />And yet here I am typing, and someone might read this, and (hopefully) understand.<br /><br />This really is a conversation that needs beer. Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com