Philosopher Julian Baggini offers an evaluation and personal theory of self in his book The Ego Trick. This paper will summarize key parts of the book and evaluate the soundness of its claims. I have divided my paper into three main parts. The first acts as a primer for later sections, and summarizes the first section of Baggini’s book. The second is a synopsis of Baggini’s main claims. And the third reflects upon the truth of Baggini’s claims.
The Pearl
In part one Baggini searches for the essence of self. That central part of us that persists throughout our life, though people change, most would assert that there is some part of them that remains the same, and plays into their identity. He refers to this essence as a pearl, equating the value
Bundle theory claims that we are simply a bundle of perceptions that together make up our conception of self. This idea is justified through introspection, if we turn our gaze inward we do not find a singular self, but rather all that is found are perceptions and feelings. These perceptions and the memory of past perceptions give rise to what we believe to be the self. Thus the self is really just psychological continuity. If this is true, Baggini has provided a clear account of why memory is so important to self (i.e. It provides a causal narrative), while accounting for other psychological parts of self. Such as, biological temperament, cultural identity, and the affect physical appearance has on identity. Despite the problems bundle theory solves, it may appear off-putting to some. Holding this view denies what is typically considered self, and replaces it with a bundle of perceptions. It may even seem that Baggini is positing the self as an illusion. In a way he is, and in another, he’s not. The self is illusory in that it isn’t truly united. Yet, it isn’t illusory in that it is how it is. This is the ego trick; we are tricked into believing that the self is something that it’s not. Nevertheless, the way in which we must perceive things does not necessitate that they be that
Additional arguments and forms of dualism could have been cited. Nonetheless, the ending arguments and appeals remain the same. It comes down to whether or not seemingly unconscious matter can give rise to something conscious. Dualist’s asserting that it can’t need to appeal to something immaterial, which carries with it a plethora of questions (e.g. efficient cause of the soul, existence of unobservable things, etc.). Typically, the burden of truth dualists must bear is enough to make me side with materialists. Though Baggini causes a problem by asserting that consciousness miraculously arises from matter. Thus what could have been a more empirically reasonable account of self (e.g. something like Dennett’s view), is muddled with the same mysterious nature found in the Dualist
To the dualist, mind is immaterial and, furthermore, cannot in any conceivable circumstance be reduced to matter. This irreducibility, to make the point more explicit, is not contingent on the level of progress of scientific investigation; the thoroughgoing dualist denies the possibility, however remote, that neuroscience, however sophisticated in future millennia, might ever discover that states of mind are the same entities as states of the brain. Why is the dualist so confident in his assertion? He argues that the very nature of consciousness is alien to that of matter of which the brain is composed. Material objects can be broken down into their constituents, to molecules, to atoms, to sub-atomic particles; they have mass and volume; they have dimensions (what Descartes called extension) and location. In contrast, mental states have none of these properties: sensations, feelings, thoughts (or any instanc...
In the article, Bersani discusses "the self" and that it should be eradicated. The following is what Bersani thinks of "the self":
The main argument against psychological egoism is that people do in fact act to fulfill other’s desires. For example, Jack was playing video games and his mother asked him to help her with the dishes and he does so. He is doing this not to fulfill his desires, but to fulfill hers; he was already sitting down doing something that fulfilled his desires a...
The ego lies within the conscious and unconscious realm and seeks to satisfy the id’s
Dualism is the theory that the mind and body are two separate things. Dualism implies that the mind and soul can exist separate from the actual body. In the mind we have inner states. These states are considered not connected to any specific part of the body but in another place entirely. No one knows that’s why they are considered inner states. Inner states cannot be questioned because we as humans cannot distinguish each and every other persons’ inner thoughts. We can only distinguish our own thoughts and inner states. That is why the argument that
• Once more, the ordinary science’ proves itself as the master of classification, inventing and defining the various categories of Egoism. Per example, psychological egoism, which defines doctrine that an individual is always motivated by self-interest, then rational egoism which unquestionably advocates acting in self-interest. Ethical egoism as diametrically opposite of ethical altruism which obliges a moral agent to assist the other first, even if sacrifices own interest. Also, ethical egoism differs from both rational and psychological egoism in ‘defending’ doctrine which considers all actions with contributive beneficial effects for an acting individual
Using this analogy, the person is the “rope” and the “fibres” are the memory connections, and the mental processes they connect. However, as long as the personal is psychological connected, in other words, if the person can remember their childhood memories, then they are the same person. Philosophers reasons the attractiveness of this theory, as unlike bodily and soul views, the identity of the self is not the identity of the body or soul. Therefore, a person would know who they are without examining their body and in case of someone waking up in a different body, they would not conclude they were not the same person. Furthermore, memory view reflects the importance of personal identity, as psychology is more important, both to ourselves and to others, than our bodily
Dualism claims that the mind is a distinct nonphysical thing, a complete entity that is independent of any physical body to which it is temporarily attached. Any mental states and activities, as well as physical ones, originate from this unique entity. Dualism states that the real essence of a person has nothing to do with his physical body, but rather from the distinct nonphysical entity of the mind. The mind is in constant interaction with the body. The body's sense organs create experiences in the mind. The desires and decisions of the mind cause the body to act in certain ways. This is what makes each mind's body its own.
Dualism is the view which states that there exists two types of substances. An immaterial entity that is responsible for our mental life, and a material body . It claims that both are able to interact and affect one another. In Difficulties for the Dualist by Smith, P. and Jones, O.R. , many problems are raised against dualism. I will focus on the nature of the mind/body interaction. The argument claims that the mind/body causal interaction is mysterious, and therefore materialism is the more attractive argument. I will disagree with the authors by arguing that body/body interactions are equally mysterious considering that both types of interactions both boil down to a rock-bottom explanation in which we can no longer further explain. I will then conclude that dualism is valid in claiming
Surprisingly dualism has become synonymous with Rene Descartes that often times it is many just referred to by many as Cartesian dualism, as if this was the decisive line of attack to the issue. The theory behind dualism is that the mind and the body, that mind and matter, are two distinct things. Descartes well-thought-out the difficulty of the location of the mind and came to the conclusions that the mind was a completely separate entity from the body. Descartes stated that he is a subject of conscious thought and experience and thus cannot be nothing more than spatially extended matter. The fundamental nature of the human being, or the mind, are unable to be material but are obliged to be no...
A dualist may respond with a type of property dualism (epiphenomenalism or interacionism) by saying that mental states supervene on brain states. Therefore, if the brain is damaged, particular mental states will have no supervienence base, and the mind will be affected. This seems to save the duali...
René Descartes laid the foundations for Cartesian Dualism within his Meditations on First Philosophy. Descartes provides most of his dualist view within the second and sixth meditations. Dualism is the belief, or school, within philosophy of mind that the mind and body are separate. Cartesian Dualism, specifically, is essentially substance dualism, which argues that the mind and body are of separate substances, in Descartes’ case, the mind being spiritual and the body being physical. This viewpoint was a common one during Hobbe...
Important concepts in psychoanalysis are the id, superego, and ego. The id is an entirely unconscious and instinctual layer of an individual and operates on what is known as the “pleasure principle”, meaning it is constantly seeking immediate satisfaction. The ego is the component of the self that deals with reality and operates on the reality principle, which tries to satisfy the id’s needs in a much more socially and morally acceptable way. The superego is the last part to develop and this is what individuals learn from their surroundings, like society and the people ...
Many theories bombarded in an attempt to set a moral code by which people are ought to live by. Plenty of controversies and arguments are raised against each one. One of the controversial moral doctrines is egoism, or simply preferring one's self interest over other's interests and desires. The doctrine seems to be reasonable to a certain extent at first, yet it fails drastically when having a second thought about it. Throughout my essay, I will explain the different types of egoism, and argue for each one of them. Finally, I will provide counter arguments for each type along with my personal opinion and analysis.
The philosophical problem of personal identity pertains to questions that arise about ourselves by virtue of our being persons. There is no single question that will sum up the problem, but rather a multitude of questions that are loosely connected to each other. Within this essay, the four most prominent problems will be explained and addressed. One of the most familiar is the question of “Who am I?” This regards to what makes one a unique individual. Another familiar question is, “What is it to be a person?” This concerns the necessary criteria for something to count as a person as opposed to a non-person. There is also the problem of persistence, relating to personal identity over time. An example of this would be to glance upon an old photograph of a childhood class, point and say, “That's me.” The questions arises of, “What makes you that one instead of one of the others?” The last problem to be explained is the one of evidence. How do we find out who is who? There are two separate sources of evidence used often in philosophy: first-person memory, pertaining to one remembering an action or event and therefore being the person who did such, and physical continuity, where if the one who performed the action or witnessed the event looks like you, then it is you.