"How things seem is not how things are. For most of us, most of the time, it seems as though the self is an enduring and unified entity, an essence, a unique identity: the recipient of wave-upon-wave of perceptions, and decision-maker-in-chief about what to do next. We sense, we think, we act. This is how things seem. How things are is very different. The story emerging from a rich blend of philosophy, psychology, and neuroscience is that the self is not 'that which does the perceiving'. Instead, the self is a perception too. Or rather, it is a collection of related perceptions. Experiences of the world, and of the self, are created by the brain following a common principle -- a principle of 'best guessing', or what we might call 'controlled hallucination'." Neuroscientist Anil Seth shares more in this compelling piece.
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