In an earlier post regarding part one of this topic, I suggested that yes indeed we are a person but I would leave open the question of whether this ongoing self we intuitively feel is an actual thing that has substance. In this post, I will attempt to address the latter question.
Ok, so we are a person. As mentioned in the first post, we are a person because the society we were born into accepts us as such. We had nothing to do with how, when, where or under what circumstances we came into our particular societies when we were each born. Depending on the society and the time we were born, each society has its own current ethical standards. I suggested our jobs as persons are to be productive and improve the society in which we find ourselves to the best of our ability. So now the issue is "are we a self?" and does it matter if we realize the distinction. Admittedly most people are not concerned about this question. After reading this post to a very close friend she told me only a very few may be interested and didn't understand the reason for making any distinction. If this is like you, then just read the concluding two sentences of this post.
We all have the intuitive feel of an unchanging self. Recall back to when you were ten years old. You've changed quite a bit since then. Your body, your experiences and your circumstances are all quite different currently. Even the society you inhabit now probably has changed significantly since the time you were born. Yet the "me" we intuitively feel is the same self. It was me who had all those experiences. We can imagine that it will be this same self that experiences things in the future. Is there some ongoing "self" that has substance and continuity and might even continue after we die? That is the question.
Virtually all religions propose there is indeed an ongoing substance to this self and have different beliefs about how this "self substance" will continue after we die. Paradoxically, they also believe that the self is not an ongoing substance because it can vanish under the right circumstances. For example, virtually all religions have some version of the idea that one must be "born again" or "surrender" this self. The word "Islam" in Arabic is translated as "surrender" in English. Zen Buddhists refer to "dying on the pillow" during intensive meditation sessions. Most people in the West have heard the term "born again" in the Christian sense of giving up one's self and surrendering to Christ. These two stories, first of an ongoing self with substance, and second of a self that can be vanished, are firmly believed and yet so intertwined and twisted in all directions. Many religionists do not see this contradiction because they rely on faith. Some without faith are also aware of this seemingly unsolvable problem. The idea of an unchanging, ongoing self that has some immaterial substance simply does not accord with their secular perspective, yet they intuitively and strongly feel a sense of an ongoing, unchangeable self. This knot of contradictions has been around for a very long time and has hardened.
Let's see if we can solve this issue as in the story of Alexander and the Gordian knot. In this story there was a wagon hitched to its yoke by a tightly tangled knot. Over the years many had tried repeatedly to untie it and failed. Alexander himself tried and failed. There seemed to be no solution. Then Alexander stepped back, took a long look at the problem of the wagon and the yoke, and knew what to do. He took out his sword and sliced the knot clean off the yoke. Problem of unhitching the wagon to its yoke solved. So, how do we solve the contradictions presented here, paradoxes that are twisted into a knot? Well, you need to take out your sword.
As you look out at this seemingly unsolvable problem from a distance, you notice a rabbit scurrying by your problem. The thought comes: Rabbits don't have this dilemma that we see here with humans. Why is that? Then a light bulb comes on in your mind: Rabbits don't have the capability to think abstract concepts such as before and after, past, present and future or to imagine some higher power that pervades the universe. You know this from vague knowledge of the sciences such as neuroscience, psychology, physics, chemistry, animal studies and most especially from human development studies from birth to adulthood. You don't need to go into detail in your mind about this background knowledge, you see instantly the solution. So, you pull out your sword, hold it high overhead feeling its weight behind you ready to strike. You feel the sword swiftly descend and cut through the tether tieing you to your angst. You walk up to the wagon feeling exilarated. When you look closely you realize there was only an apparent unsolveable problem. The "self" is something you create because you can, because humans can think abstract concepts. It isn't something other than that. Then another realization comes to you. This separation from everything else in your awareness is caused by this imagined self that, by virtue of its imagined existence, is necessarily separate from others and everyone outside of this self. Walking back home with your friends and family, you have another realization. The only thing that is real is your participation in your society as it arises new in each "now" of your life. No more whining about such things as "why me", "why them", "if only this or only that". You realize you are enough right now and you can use your human abilities to do pretty cool things despite the angst it may have caused you. What is real to you is that you are a person in this human society. Might as well enjoy your moments that endlessly emerge and be a positive influence. Eventually it will all go away when you die, at least for the person, you, and me.
