Conditions like Alzheimer's showcase the constructed nature of personal narratives and memories.
Foreign limb syndrome challenges the perceived ownership of body parts, leading to extreme measures.
Deep dives
The Constructed Nature of the Narrative Self
The podcast explores the concept of the narrative self and how it is constructed, delving into the impact of conditions like Alzheimer's on personal stories and memories. Alzheimer's disease is highlighted as a lens through which to view the construction of our narratives, as it affects short-term memory and can lead to the scrambling of personal stories, showcasing the fragility and constructed nature of our sense of self.
Challenging the Sense of Ownership of Body Parts
The discussion extends to the sense of ownership of body parts, introducing the concept of xenomelia or foreign limb syndrome, where individuals feel that certain body parts do not belong to them. This condition challenges the perceived ownership of body parts, emphasizing that this sense of ownership can be disrupted, leading to extreme measures being taken to amputate body parts.
The Fragility of the Sense of Agency and Embodiment
The podcast further delves into the sense of agency, highlighting how individuals with schizophrenia may not always feel like they are the agents of their actions. Additionally, the experience of being in a body and out of body experiences are discussed, emphasizing that even fundamental aspects of our embodied experience, such as the sense of agency, can be constructions that may fail. These insights collectively challenge our understanding of the self and its constructed nature.
Our memories and bodies give us clues about who we are, but what happens when this guidance shifts? In this mind-bending talk, science writer Anil Ananthaswamy shares how the experiences of "altered selves" -- resulting from schizophrenia, Alzheimer's, foreign limb syndrome or other conditions -- shed light on the constructed nature of identity. He breaks down where our sense of self comes from and invites us to challenge our assumptions about who we are, with the aim of building a better you and a better world.
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