In some ways, our experience of self is kind of a post hoc way of making sense of these emotions that we feel. These emotions came on the scene plausibly before the phenomenology and the sense of self came onto the scene. And that certainly our emotions aren't determined by our sense of whether we're diachronic or episodic. I think it's sort of what we do with them more that and how we understand them as long term effects of how we experience life.
Do you think of your life as a story? Does your life have a narrative structure or form? Do you identify with your past selves and your future selves? If not, can you live a good life, a moral life, an authentic life? Can you feel guilt, regret, and resentment? Plus, speaking of stories, we talk about a new study suggesting that books with anthropomorphic animals can't teach moral lessons to kids.
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Links:
- Larsen, N. E., Lee, K., & Ganea, P. A. (2017). Do storybooks with anthropomorphized animal characters promote prosocial behaviors in young children?. Developmental Science.
- Children's books with humans have greater moral impact than animals, study finds | Books | The Guardian
- Strawson, G. (2004). Against narrativity. Ratio, 17(4), 428-452.
- Strawson, G. (2007). Episodic ethics. Royal Institute of Philosophy Supplements, 60, 85-115.
- Parfit, D. (1995). The unimportance of identity.
- I am Not a Story