The Eye and the Me Again

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The self is a construct generated by the brain. It's a characterization, which allows you to make sense of things and plan. We have this sense of identities and self but illusions can still be very real in the brain. If you're perceiving it, then the brain is treating it as if it could be. So why did we evolve this self illusion? What advantage does it provide us broadly?

Is the person you believe to be the protagonist of your life story real or a fictional character? In other words, is your very self real or is it an illusion? According to psychologist Bruce Hood, the person at the center of your life isn't really there; it's all neurological smoke and mirrors. Sure, you have the sensation that you have a self, and that sensation is real, but the beliefs and ideas that spring from it are not. Learn all about it in this episode in which you'll hear some new material mixed with a rebroadcast of episode four's interview with the author of The Self Illusion, Bruce Hood.

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