Posted by DSCH on November 21, 2003, at 9:17:50
In reply to Re: An Idea » Francesco , posted by JLx on November 21, 2003, at 8:45:13
> I used to have a vague idea that we had a "self" that meds/supplements/whatever altered one way or another -- more my "true" self, or not.
>
> I don't think that way anymore. I think we're a product of our brain chemistry -- alter that and our "Self" is altered.
>
> I found this a bit depressing at first -- Am "I" only chemical soup? -- but now I think of it as potentially continued renewal. ;)(Let me preface all of the following with IMO, IMHO, maybe, and/or YMMV so I can use direct language for a change.)
I think you need to look at in layers of scale and in time.
Scale: you are not a monolith but a society of (usually, ideally) cooperating subroutines. And ultimately all of these rest upon the fuctioning of individual neurons. 'Self' as a seamless construct is an interesting illusion projected at some level of our consciousness, probably to make us 'saner' and less prone to detached self-exploration back when there was food to be gathered and game to be hunted.
Time: you won't alter your memories, so in that sense you retain continuity with who you were. You may alter how you reflect on them though.
poster:DSCH
thread:272902
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/alter/20031104/msgs/282043.html