Sublime

There is no fixed, stable ‘you’—only a collection of related mental imprints over time. The continuity between these states is more tenuous than it appears: our memories are generated afresh each time we access them, with most of the fine details fabricated. Outside of the worst cases of arrested development, we’re much more like a series of differ

The self is another perception, another controlled hallucination, though of a very special kind.

“I am not fully known to myself because part of what I am is the enigmatic traces of others.”

the mind is not one thing, but many.

the ability to recognize oneself in the mirror.

It often appears as confusion. Slipping from one concept to another, keeps the mind busy with its endless stories of a ‘me’ and the ‘other’.

our working identity is not a hidden treasure waiting to be discovered at the very core of our being – rather, it is made up of many possibilities . . . we are many selves.53

We come to know our own minds through our interactions with others. Our mirror neuron perceptions, and the resonance they create, act quickly and often outside of awareness.

To most readers, this thought experiment will suggest that psychological continuity—the mere maintenance of one’s memories, beliefs, habits, and other mental traits—is an insufficient basis for personal identity. It’s not enough for someone on Mars to be just like you; he must actually be you.