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Is the "self" something real? or it just a kind of special awareness? Many philosophers and neuroscientists have denied the existence of the "self" . Any input?

lovethinking 3 Oct 28
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Self is a word. Denying the existence of a word is silly. Same as denying the existence of "god" as a word is silly. But inherently both are meaningless words. Meaningless is very different from existence statements. I think in philosophy it is very well established the idea of self and transcendentals. But from my view, a person who does not know what a word means and says assuredly "it"(e.g. self, god) exists is simply acting on emotions.

I think self is the only concept worth pursuing. But it is not something a word can deliver any real meaning towards a resolution.

argo Level 4 Nov 3, 2017
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As Piaget points out, we, as living biological organisms, interact with our environment will all our senses, as well as chemically. We all build schema (patterns of thought and action) which enable us to make sense of and cope with aspects of our environment. We also form thoughts and data into cognitive structures or patterns of meaning. At the core of these patterns of meaning are strongly held beliefs and values which we use to define ourselves. That is the "self."

Wordy, which Piaget book/books would you recommend for learning more about these "cognitive structures or patterns of meaning"? Thanks.

@skado I am sorry, but it has been almost 50 years since I studied Piaget, and I no longer have the books. Try looking up psychology books, books on Amazon, and on Google as well. Wish I could help you. To me, Piaget was the most thorough and compelling psycho9logist I have ever studied.

@wordywalt I am just now, this late in life discovering him, and find his contributions fascinating. I have his "The Psychology of the Child" and will look for others, thanks.

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The concept of self relies on something being able to reason and have abstract thought as to what it is not, as much as what it is. So it is real, in as much as you believe you are real and the world we inhabit is real (sort of airy fairy sentence, but some people don't even accept this i.e. Matrix). The self concept is interesting as it is made up of lots of different 'selfs' - self image, self perception, past, present and future self, self in society, etc,. I don't believe that the self concept is same as the soul. The concept of self is purely a temporal.

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If you're asking if the 'self' is something akin to a 'soul' that is separate from a physical brain and can still be aware even after death, I agree with neuroscientist Sam Harris and say no.
Here is a short, less than two-minute video of Sam addressing it.

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