Gautama's Argument for the Self

Gautama's discussion of the self, mind, and so on is developed with an eye towards responding to and refuting other schools. Gautama contends that the self is needed to serve as the subject of mental states like desires, pleasures, and pains. He goes the mind-body dualism of Deskhat, one better, proposing that we each have a self in addition to a mind and body.