There are many perspectives to what is 'self'. One set of perspectives are the following;Dontaskme wrote: ↑Sat Sep 14, 2019 10:59 amNope, you are wrong. The SELF is prior to knowledge of self. First you have to be to know anything.Veritas Aequitas wrote: ↑Sat Sep 14, 2019 9:58 am Nah, you are wrong on this.
It is the existential crisis that enable human a sense of self, the ego.
Knowledge of self is illusory, the actual nature of self is not.
- 1. The DNA self - the proto-self
2. The Empirical Self - I, you, they.
3. The Eternal independent self with eternal life.
The DNA or proto-self which is an unconscious self is the self that emerges when the sperm interacts with the egg to form the proto self - the basic human being, firstly physical and then consciousness and mental faculties. This DNA or proto-self is alive until the person is certified dead.
This would be your above mentioned 'The SELF is prior to knowledge of self'.
This is the self that is still alive when one is in a coma where the proto-self is fully detached from the empirical self.
The detachment of the empirical self varies from the proto-self varies in degrees in different states, e.g. dreams, being drunk, depersonalized due to drugs, mental disorder, brain damage, drugged, etc.
In your case it would appear it is something like a depersonalization disorder of some degree.
The Empirical Self
The empirical self is the conscious self emerging from being self-conscious or self-aware which emerged in late childhood 2-3 years and continue to evolve with the sense of the "I-ness' i.e. the ego throughout one's adult's life.
The conscious self is strongly entrenched neurally in the human brain to ensure a strong sense of self which overshadow the proto-self. This where if the neural circuits of the ego or sense of the "I" is too strong it leads to high egotism, narcissism, selfishness and the likes.
Normally the conscious self is supported by strong neural circuits most the time to be conscious but it is DNA deactivated in sleep where the empirical self is shut off.
But there are situations where the conscious empirical self is shut off partially in various degrees thus it is aware of the partial detachment in state as mentioned above, e.g. dreams, being drunk, depersonalized due to drugs, mental disorder, brain damage, drugged, etc.
In your case, your empirical self is partially deactivated or weakened for you to be aware of the proto-self. In your case of depersonalization disorder you consciously are putting too much focus on the proto-self without the ability to balance your priorities.
If you insist this proto-self is independent of the human conditions, then you are believing in an illusion. (A)
As I had stated to modulate the stronghold of the "I" is a good thing but one must have balance between the empirical self and being conscious of the proto-self.
The Eternal independent self with eternal life.
While you emphasize toward the extreme of the proto-self, there are those in the other extreme who focus and take the empirical self, i.e. pushing the "I" to the extreme in insisting their "I" is independent of the conscious empirical self as the soul and have the ability to survive after physical death in heaven with eternal life.
Those who believe in the eternal self imply it is independent of the human condition, thus leading to an illusion. (B)
Knowledge of the self is not illusory.
In the above case, I provided knowledge of the various perspective of the self with justifications, thus that is not illusory.
What is illusory with the self is when one insist there is knowledge of the self without justifications, note point (A) and (B) above.
I said again, one must have balance, i.e. the Middle-Way as in Buddhism in accepting the idea of self and no-self in a balanced complementary approach like the Yin-Yang model.
Note again, 'balance' your view is not a balanced one, thus delusional.