Max Koral Korner- Identity

Hello, it is "I" Max Koral again! I am sorry I left it so long since my last post but because of Covid, I have been very busy not being busy and it appears that time just disappeared. Today I discuss identity.

Identity

Identity is important to humans. We could also regard it as self-image. Philosophers and Theologists have views on this subject. Many religions teach that there is no self, it is just a delusion. Others say that self is intimately related to a non-material soul. Quantum physicists propound that self is a creation of your mind as is the rest of the material world.

The view that we can progressively reduce objects to smaller and smaller bits is not new. Around 450 B.C., the Greek philosopher Democritus introduced the idea of the atom. Democritus taught that atoms were infinite in number, uncreated, and eternal and that the qualities of an object result from the kind of atoms that compose it. He thought that the atom was the final indivisible part. Atoms get together and form objects, where the atoms although part of it, cannot be seen.

The Scientists who found that everything in the Universe is ultimately composed of waves and particles propose that what we see as objects do not in reality exist. I am not so sure about that. Bricks make a house and the house as a physical structure does exist. It is true that what we perceive is through our senses and we cannot in reality experience the real object, only the sensory image formed. The house you see and the house I see may be very different. While I agree that this image is very individual, it has basic characteristics which are common to all observers. For example, if there is an object which we call a wall in front of you, although it may appear different to each observer, all will recognise it as an object which would not allow you to walk through it and unless the person is blind, would not attempt to do so. My point is that the mere fact that an object is ultimately made up of very small components does not allow one to come to the conclusion that it does not exist.

Coming now to self and soul, the non-theistic religions stress the point that there is no soul and the concept of an individual or self is a delusion. There is no “I “or “him/her” they tell us, but all the time they use the same term “I” to teach how “I “ can achieve salvation. There is no “I “ the “I is told repeatedly but the “I “ is also told what “I “ must do to achieve bliss which is not-experienced by “I” as “I” does not exist.

What about Heaven? Who goes to heaven when you die? What does the person who reaches heaven look like? Couples are supposed to be reunited in Heaven, but as what? If the wife dies at the age of 35 and the husband dies at the age of 65 after 30 years, where was the wife in that time? All alone in Heaven? Doing what?  When the husband joins her, will she recognise this 65-year-old man…. Or do people in Heaven “exist” in some mysterious way which we humans cannot conceive? How do they spend their time? Does Time exist?

In spite of all these conundrums all of us have a concept of who we are and we proudly protect it. We are very concerned about how we appear to others. Women especially, go to great lengths to alter their appearance by the application of makeup, what they wear etc. Even Men do it although to a lesser extent. The “I” image varies all the time in a person. How you wish to look, sound and smell are often determined by the social context. It is often determined by what others expect from you. The “I” in one context is very different from another. The self or  “I” concept is so strong that people can be very disturbed angry and anxious if others do not recognise them according to the self-image or identity possessed by that person which they wish to project. “Sir X” is unhappy when addressed as “Mr X” and a person who has invested in time and money changing their appearance and persona will be very upset when the desired effect is not achieved. But all the time, there is a real “I” which only that person knows, or maybe doesn’t know!

The “I” maybe impermanent and subject to change but it is there….strengthened by our physical separateness and recollections and memories. If you ask most people what they would wish for them to be happy,  it would be to experience pleasant as opposed to unpleasant sensations or feelings and, not experience unpleasant sensations such as pain. At any one moment, your consciousness is a mixture of 3 things:- your current feeling at that moment, your feelings connected to your past experiences and lastly, your anticipation of your future experience.  All this operates within a feeling of identity. These are connected with philosophical concepts such as “Intentionality” – the ability of our minds to project outside and reach out to anywhere you wish to, and any situation you can imagine. I can in my thoughts travel to Sri Lanka or imagine what a fellow human being thinks of me. My construction (imagination) of the attributes of that person I am thinking of and what emotions I go through, are greatly influenced by the conclusion I reach of what I mean to that person. This is why it is so difficult to dislike somebody who likes you even if that person is disliked by everyone else. The “I” in you wants recognition and affection.

This is Max signing off… just have a think “I” say to “you”!