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Articles

Saving the Self

Following on from our last issue, Raymond Tallis defends personal identity from those who say the self is an illusion.

One could forgive the self for feeling rather hunted. Since David Hume famously questioned its existence, the number, intensity and variety of attacks has increased. It is time someone came to the rescue and got one or two things straight. But let us first look at the case made by the ‘autocides’.

The Attack on the Self

It is difficult not to begin with David Hume, as his assault on the self includes what must be one of the most famous passages in all philosophy:

“For my part, when I enter most intimately into what I call myself, I always stumble on some particular perception or other, of heat, cold, light or shade, love or hatred, pain or pleasure.

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