My Life in Prose

Flesh and Mind

Were it so simple, the concept of a self, this pondering would have no need to exist.

And pondering this is. A stream of consciousness written into characters on a page for someone to  contemplate the meaning. But who is that someone? Where does the someone exist?

At first thought one may think of a "self" as the brain. The brain is the controller of the physical impulses of the body. It regulates and manages all of the physical responses to stimuli. Is the self just a continuation of the physical? Would a self also be a response to outside stimuli that have a response inside of the brain? Would self, therefore, be defined as how the body reacts? Or could self be defined as the body itself?

Going one level deeper, could the "self" but the thoughts within the brain? The metaphysical aspect of the brain, where science can only touch with theories and suppositions. When an external stimuli happens, the brain may produce a physical reaction, but within the brain there may be a mental reaction as well.

That can further be complicated by how many mental reactions there are. There are instances where many mental reactions are once may occur, and some metaphysical existence, perhaps the "self", decides which reaction is the correct reaction to choose as reality. But therein creates yet another conundrum: the metaphysical existence which creates the decision may not be the same each time. There may be multiple existences which react different ways. Even with just one existence, the input may be interpreted differently depending on other input as well.

Digging deeper still, we look at this decision making existence or group of existences. Are they merely a creation of the physical body? A creation of the brain? Or even something more. Is this existence the self? And if so where does it truly reside?

Can this sense of self be from a soul.  Is the soul the same as the entity which controls thoughts? Is not a thought inside of the brain, so would a soul also be? Some may claim a soul is in the heart. This is clearly a metaphor, as the heart is only an organ. So there must be a metaphorical heart within the brain somewhere. But how does the brain know to create this metaphor?

How does the brain decide that we are allowed to create our own entity with which to use to decipher external stimuli and turn it into a reaction both physical and mental?

Then what of those with damage to the brain? Some manage to stay themselves, while others do not. Is the brain then not the container of the self? Where does a self reside and how is it maintained?