I remember a speculation by a neuroscientist. Can’t remember his/her name, but it should brighten your day.
It says that I am just a narrative made from different regions of the brain vying for attention. That would explain, for example, why dreams are unrealistic - in REM sleep only a few areas are active at anyone time. I can fly when none of the regions that know it’s impossible are active during the dream.
If this is true then:
- I am an illusion, assisted by my brain’s shared long-term memory of what ‘I’ did last week, other people recognizing me, the photo on my driving license, etc.
- “I think therefore I am” can only be true for, at most, the duration of a single train of thought – I’m more like a transient interference pattern than the entity I’d like to be.
- Having a soul is physically impossible.
Comforting or what?
'I' quite like it, if only because it cuts through a whole load of metaphysics.