Flexibility of the Self

The self is not limited by the borders of our skin; it can expand by incorporating external objects into its body plan. The brain includes objects it can control as part of the self, evident in examples like a dog with a surfboard or a monkey with a rake. This flexibility challenges the idea that the self is fixed genetically, showing that control plays a crucial role in determining what is included in the self. The brain, fundamentally a prediction machine, incorporates objects into the self that it can control, enabling it to interact with the world and predict events despite being locked in silence and darkness.