Julian Baggini's Preconceived Notion Of You
Aaron Herling
Andrew Arick
English 1100
12 September 2014
What does it mean to be you? In Julian Baggini 's "Is There a Real You?", he discusses what our preconceived notion of what we think we are. He challenges the typical idea of what the word "you" really means and how it defines us. For the longest time, we have always thought that we needed to actually go out and discover who we are as a person. We feel that without this, we are limiting our understanding of who we are and what we can become. It is this idea that people have this core, this central definition of who they are, that Baggini wants to challenge. That we are instead not just a person, but are all of the things that we have experienced and done. This kind of mindset is …show more content…
But it’s true that neuroscience shows that there is no center in the brain where things do all come together.” This understanding of the brain is interesting because it shows how the brain isn’t being controlled by a central unit that tells us who we are and that we exist, but by different sections that all work together in order to form this sense of self. It is a scary thought because it gives off this sense of illusion, that we are in fact not real. Baggini goes on to say that this kind of idea is not one that is particularly helpful and uses a the Iguazu falls as a rough metaphor to help give us a better understanding of what we are. We can understand and appreciation that there is nothing permanent with the falls, it is always changing and the water itself is never the same. This doesn’t mean that it is an illusion though. The fact that the water is able to flow in different ways means that the falls are able to change and develop; defining what it is more and more. That sense of freedom is something that it is quite liberating when it comes to us. This kind of idea allows Baggini to strengthen his argument when it comes to challenging the idea that we have this permanent meaning and that we are trapped in definition that we give for
Andrew Arick
English 1100
12 September 2014
What does it mean to be you? In Julian Baggini 's "Is There a Real You?", he discusses what our preconceived notion of what we think we are. He challenges the typical idea of what the word "you" really means and how it defines us. For the longest time, we have always thought that we needed to actually go out and discover who we are as a person. We feel that without this, we are limiting our understanding of who we are and what we can become. It is this idea that people have this core, this central definition of who they are, that Baggini wants to challenge. That we are instead not just a person, but are all of the things that we have experienced and done. This kind of mindset is …show more content…
But it’s true that neuroscience shows that there is no center in the brain where things do all come together.” This understanding of the brain is interesting because it shows how the brain isn’t being controlled by a central unit that tells us who we are and that we exist, but by different sections that all work together in order to form this sense of self. It is a scary thought because it gives off this sense of illusion, that we are in fact not real. Baggini goes on to say that this kind of idea is not one that is particularly helpful and uses a the Iguazu falls as a rough metaphor to help give us a better understanding of what we are. We can understand and appreciation that there is nothing permanent with the falls, it is always changing and the water itself is never the same. This doesn’t mean that it is an illusion though. The fact that the water is able to flow in different ways means that the falls are able to change and develop; defining what it is more and more. That sense of freedom is something that it is quite liberating when it comes to us. This kind of idea allows Baggini to strengthen his argument when it comes to challenging the idea that we have this permanent meaning and that we are trapped in definition that we give for