The Eye and the Me

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I think that there's a good distinction you can draw when talking about the self between the eye and the me. I don't think they have an autobiographical sense of who they are, and frankly, how could they when they're only a couple of minutes old? When you ask people what's their earliest memories, it's well known that very few people can remember anything before their second birthday. So I think that the sense of self, the me, starts to emerge as children start to become, get a sense of their own self identity.

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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