Unit 5: “Ethics of the Future”
Prompt: Why do we think that we are a single continuous self? Why do we care about the notions of the self? What does it do for us? What would truly believing that there is no self involve?
Response: I am a continuous self because I have memories that span my entire life, though they vary in detail and length. To me, these flashes of memories serve as proof of existence in the past. Furthermore, I am able to have these memories corroborated by others who were there with me throughout them (family, friends, etc). Being able to believe in the “self” forces us to take responsibility for our lives and the decisions we make if that makes any sense. Our actions were made by our “executor”, i.e. our “self”, and actions have consequences, some good and others bad, depending on who they impact and what they are. Having a self gives each person personal agency and individuality; just as every human is unique in their genetic makeup, save for identical twins, a self is one’s identity. And though they share the same DNA, identical twins still have their own individual “selves”.
Expansion: Following the end of the Humanities-104 course, I still believe there is one “continuous” self. I do not believe that we have more than one individual being as we grow, and this is due to the memories we maintain and our general personality, temperament, and other traits which are verifiably determined or at least influenced heavily by genetics. That said, due to the potential for some of these to change, I am not opposed to the idea that the “self” can experience great change, but this does not inherently create a new entity.
