you don't exist
This note is primarily based off this video
“You” don’t exist. You are formed from a variety of parts which disagree with one another, and only through a cultivated image and a vague agreement between the parts can it even be said that “you” like or dislike things, that “you” have a set of beliefs.
The video posted above lists these as things that aren’t really you.
- Fear
- you can’t control what you are afraid of or how you immediately perceive scary things
- Blinking & Breathing
- The things you like
- You feel like you have some control over this, but if you could really choose what to like, why wouldn’t you choose to like everything? If you walk into a bar and they are playing bad music, it would be in your best interest to enjoy it, so the fact that you just don’t implies that it is out of your control
- What your brain processes
- You can’t help but process the words you are reading right now
- High level stuff
- For a short while, yes, but eventually your unconscious mind takes over and does it passively. If you’ve driven a car on familiar streets, you usually just autopilot through them.
- Motor movements
- The neurons to move your hand actually begin movement long before “you” decide to move your hand, based on a paper by Libet
Maybe consciousness is just a narrative we tell ourselves about to maintain sanity
Tag: identity
