Who are you?

[John Kramer]

Do you think it's possible to truly know yourself, or are we all just piecing together reflections from others, memories, and assumptions? At what point does the person we think we are become the person we actually are?

 

[Leiot]

The Buddhists talk about enlightenment as waking up and seeing things for what they truly are. I think it's possible; I just don't think I'll ever make it.

 

[BeijaFlor]

 

[Pluto]

 

[Hollowman]

I'm nobody.

 

[ijustwishtodie]

I'm just a by product of my brain

 

[DarkRange55]

Do you think it's possible to truly know yourself, or are we all just piecing together reflections from others, memories, and assumptions? At what point does the person we think we are become the person we actually are?

Do you think it's possible to truly know yourself

You might be a simulation

, or are we all just piecing together reflections from others, memories, and assumptions?

Yes

At what point does the person we think we are become the person we actually are?

You are what you do. A man is defined by his actions, not by his memory (Kuato).

I'm just a by product of my brain

Yes, interacting with inputs that appear to come from an amazing external universe that may be part of an even more glorious omniverse.

 

[ZeroM24]

Flesh, bone, brain.

 

[Warlord's Pulse]

Well, it's just useless to think in that way. It's like those pseudointellectuals quoting Nietzsche stating that love for another person actually doesn't exist. Well, it can be true, so what? It doesn't change the fact that is a good thing

 

[Thisisnotaname]

Ask carl jung to know who I am

 

[EvisceratedJester]

Who you are is defined by your genetics and brain structure and ways in which your experiences shape your preexisting neural structures, blah blah blah. While you can come to know yourself there is a limitation to introspection, yada yada yada.

Anyway, here is a picture that represents who I am deep down inside

Spoiler

 

[Dr Iron Arc]

 

[John Kramer]

Well, it's just useless to think in that way. It's like those pseudointellectuals quoting Nietzsche stating that love for another person actually doesn't exist. Well, it can be true, so what? It doesn't change the fact that is a good thing

You don't understand my friend, this post was engagement bait to farm reactions so I can get chat privileges (I used to have them on my old account, im not spam or a troll just already went through the effort once lol.) The paragraph, the title, all chat gpt. Thanks for your contribution!

 

[death's_door]

Just a fat kid with a cape...

 

[DarkRange55]

I think it is possible to understand yourself but it is important that we are constantly adapting. So you may learn something new about yourself because simply that trait wasn't there a year ago.

So in theory, one can truly understand themselves but that may only be in retrospect.

The current limitations to introspection could be removed as we and our technology advance.

Who you are is defined by your genetics and brain structure and ways in which your experiences shape your preexisting neural structures, blah blah blah. While you can come to know yourself there is a limitation to introspection, yada yada yada.

Anyway, here is a picture that represents who I am deep down inside

Spoiler

View attachment 154374

"Who you are is defined by your genetics and brain structure and ways in which your experiences shape your preexisting neural structures."
Yes (including what you eat, etc. in 'experiences')

 

[Forever Sleep]

Can a person be 'themselves' in total isolation? Not interacting with anyone and doing nothing? I'd say- not so much. We get an idea of who someone 'is' by how they react to certain things. Can we predict how we would react to a situation that's going to happen today? Maybe- to some extent. Do we know how we'll react to the same situation in ten years time? Maybe not as reliably. Stuff could have happened in our lives that changes how we react to things at that point.

As simple as- a song we might like now, we may hate in ten years time because by that point, we have negative associations with it. Say- it was playing while we heard some very bad news. It may be so bad that we burst into tears yet, at the moment- we're not outwardly emotional people.

I'm not sure we can even predict our own behaviour in the immediate future all that accurately. People who would like to think they are brave and good may end up bottling it if something horrific happened or, vice versa. Some things, we simply haven't been tested on. Maybe, we'll never be tested on them.

I've always wondered that with something like religion. Who's the 'stronger' or, more righteous person? One who is massively tempted to sin. Who maybe has sinned in the past but then, uses all their fortitude to resist or- someone who has very little desire to sin in the first place? Surely, they're setting out with an unfair advantage. It's hardly an achievement to resist something you didn't even want to begin with! I've always wondered- if there is a God- how do they work out the scoring! Bearing in mind also- it's God's plan that we desire so much to begin with. (I know some will blame it on an apple but- God created the apple and the massive temptation to eat it...) If there is a God anyway.

I think it's more that we have a hope or fear of who we really are and we constantly do stuff to either prove or disprove it. I've done things or rather- not done things in the past that I don't think fit with who I hope I am. Maybe that has made me reassess who I am to some extent. They've been unpleasant things. I haven't been there for people when they were there for me. Even worse though, I've made excuses for that to myself rather than admit that maybe, I'm not as kind as I hoped I was. I even decided that- yes, maybe I'm not that altruistic person but, it's not my fault! Which is worst of all really.

But no, I find it unlikely that many people know themselves entirely- unless they are unwaveringly good or, consistently bad!

Again though- is someone who is 'good' necessarily 'good' deep down? What if you do kind things out of politeness and then, slightly resent them afterwards? Maybe there's good reason to. Maybe someone helps someone else with a project and then, they utilise all their time and effort without giving them any thanks or credit. When they ask for help again- would that person still be 'good' if they made an excuse that they were busy? (When they weren't.)

Everything that happens in our lives changes us. Every interaction we have with a person either cements our idea of that person and our relationship with them or, calls it into question. Someone who behaves dishonestly probably doesn't deserve our complete trust in the future. Does that make us a bad person? Not necessarily, but it can make us overly cynical/ pessimistic.

As such, I think it's more that we start out with a baseline character- from our genetics and upbringing and events thus far. But then, various events in life can change that- almost entirely sometimes. I've known of the biggest bullies in school become therapists!

 

[executioner1983]

I am everything I have ever loved or always known. I am my parents and my siblings. I am this house, and the freeway next to it. I am my father more than my mother. I am the man I sleep with and the boys I do not. I am the books in piles on my bedroom floor and the music on my phone. I am nothing and everything and I do not care. I am someone who does not ask unanswerable questions.

 

[The_Hunter]

>assuming there IS a self

This idea reminds me of Episode 26 of Evangelion.

 

[brokenbirdy]

A lot of the time we see parts of people that they can't see, and vice versa. People are constantly shifting and changing, and i feel it would be impossible to know yourself or someone completely. We could try, I guess?

 

[LostLily]

Nothing

 

[divinemistress36]

A meatsuit

 

[Abandoned Character]

You don't understand my friend, this post was engagement bait to farm reactions so I can get chat privileges (I used to have them on my old account, im not spam or a troll just already went through the effort once lol.) The paragraph, the title, all chat gpt. Thanks for your contribution!

If you're for real that is gold

 

[me_when_:D]

>assuming there IS a self

This idea reminds me of Episode 26 of Evangelion.

I feel like "self" doesn't have a good definition and every issue of self-identity arises from this.
Not sure whether it's even worth it to worry about this.

I don't have much of an identity and it's possible to live like that, just a bit inconvenient.
Me being here might hint that it's not very good in the long run, thought.

You don't understand my friend, this post was engagement bait to farm reactions so I can get chat privileges (I used to have them on my old account, im not spam or a troll just already went through the effort once lol.) The paragraph, the title, all chat gpt. Thanks for your contribution!

give me some too haha, I am yet to unlock pms lol

 

[pthnrdnojvsc]

You are what you do. A person is defined by their actions. @DarkRange55 got it right.

you want to find out who you are then you have to keep a time log every day . that's the printout of the programs installed into your brain mainly from ages 0-7.

 

[FinalVoid25]

Nothing.

 

[The_Hunter]

I feel like "self" doesn't have a good definition and every issue of self-identity arises from this.
Not sure whether it's even worth it to worry about this.

Agreed. That's why I personally believe that disbelieving in the notion of a "self" can help partially resolve panics of "what it is".

And I am aware that your statement of "whether it's worth it" may have been you just partially venting, but I want to highlight that it is a genuinely good question. Is this worth worrying about? To me, that seems like a good reason to question the merits of this idea, so we can allow ourselves to forget about it.

If I may be brash; I may even draw a similar parallel with the idea of a God. If a person seriously considers the base reasons for why anyone may believe in a God or similar being, and at the end of it declare that such reasons are insufficient--and as a result posit the absence of a God or declare it cannot be proven--then they relieve themselves of having to worry whether such a being exists. They solve a problem that the theist has to deal with; the uncertainty of an important belief they have.

That's just a utilitarian reason for disbelieving in the notion of a self, so we don't have to worry what it actually is. I find this helped by the evidence against it, such as other reasons I might add. It also removes the idea of there being a "true" self to blame yourself for, and allows you to dissociate from thoughts of yours you dislike, to a degree. But those are just some of my own reasons and opinions.

As for every notion of self identity--I'm sure it's likely a significant amount of self-identity issues arise from confusion from "what a self is", but I would have to think more on whether all issues of it arise from this idea. It seems more safe to say "large portion" than "all", in most cases with most ideas, though.

I don't have much of an identity and it's possible to live like that, just a bit inconvenient.
Me being here might hint that it's not very good in the long run, thought.

Perhaps if dissociating from the idea of an "identity" removes some amount of discomfort or guilt, then it is a good idea, if it relieves and provides ease to one's life.

And I just want to add, you being here doesn't necessarily mean "all your ideas are wrong"; maybe you're right, but it's just that some other issue in your life caught you up and hence, had you here. I wish us both luck in the long run, though.

 

[me_when_:D]

Agreed. That's why I personally believe that disbelieving in the notion of a "self" can help partially resolve panics of "what it is".

And I am aware that your statement of "whether it's worth it" may have been you just partially venting, but I want to highlight that it is a genuinely good question. Is this worth worrying about? To me, that seems like a good reason to question the merits of this idea, so we can allow ourselves to forget about it.

If I may be brash; I may even draw a similar parallel with the idea of a God. If a person seriously considers the base reasons for why anyone may believe in a God or similar being, and at the end of it declare that such reasons are insufficient--and as a result posit the absence of a God or declare it cannot be proven--then they relieve themselves of having to worry whether such a being exists. They solve a problem that the theist has to deal with; the uncertainty of an important belief they have.

That's just a utilitarian reason for disbelieving in the notion of a self, so we don't have to worry what it actually is. I find this helped by the evidence against it, such as other reasons I might add. It also removes the idea of there being a "true" self to blame yourself for, and allows you to dissociate from thoughts of yours you dislike, to a degree. But those are just some of my own reasons and opinions.

As for every notion of self identity--I'm sure it's likely a significant amount of self-identity issues arise from confusion from "what a self is", but I would have to think more on whether all issues of it arise from this idea. It seems more safe to say "large portion" than "all", in most cases with most ideas, though.


Perhaps if dissociating from the idea of an "identity" removes some amount of discomfort or guilt, then it is a good idea, if it relieves and provides ease to one's life.

And I just want to add, you being here doesn't necessarily mean "all your ideas are wrong"; maybe you're right, but it's just that some other issue in your life caught you up and hence, had you here. I wish us both luck in the long run, though.

I really love the way you speak. Yeah you got right what I meant to say, I wanted to comprees all of this into a few sentences and focus directly on the issue of definition of self-identity and what affects it could have on a person.

While I agree that "me being here" does not invalidate my thoughts, it does point out that on a broad scale my worldview and opinions formed in it may be damaging to human psyche as opposed to more "natural" common way of thought.

I am currently noticing that having an identity, despite it being flawed, still gave me essential benefits to basic human functioning. Having a sense of ego, being able to claim something about my self allowed to care about failure and the lack of it. A hurt ego is willing go do many great things to restore it's own self-image of greatness