5.4 Personal Identity


Minsky describes the view of Self as singleton as being paradoxical. On the one hand, it seems to serve us very well in practical life. But in psychology, to explain the mind "the single-agent image has become a grave impediment. To comprehend the human mind is surely one the hardest tasks any mind can face. The legend of the single Self can only diver us from the target of that inquiry."

(NB:Emerging theme -- our everyday introspective view of the mind is useful (and uncomplicated) because it simplifies our lives. But with respect to a scientific understanding of the mind, this single agent view is wrong and misleading and needs to be replaced with a multiple-agent view.)


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