Who Is I?: Toward a New Mythology
My aim tonight is to begin a discussion here at Carriage House Talks on the subject of self, consciousness, mind, etc. Since these do not necessarily refer to the same phenomenon, I rephrase the question as to what we mean when we say “I.” To what are we referring.
Given that there is no universal agreement to an answer, we will explore a number of neurological thought experiments as well as nonmaterial (mainly Buddhist and Indigenous American ) concepts.
In my April talk, “Sustainable Technology for Spaceship Earth,” I suggested that sustainability is the most important existential issue facing our species. How we view sustainability and how we behave in our everyday lives depends - I believe - on how we view ourselves and our relationship to others, the Earth, and the universe.