Abstract
Abstract
This chapter discusses three enduring issues implicit in the joys, trials, and dramas of daily life. First, it asks how confident we can be in our perceptual experiences or in the beliefs we take for granted. The evidence reviewed suggests that this is always a matter of judgement, not logic. There is some subjectivity in all realism—some objectivity in all fantasy. Second, it asks what self-identity is, and if it is fixed or if it changes. Our genomes are fixed, but a genome is not a person. Both people and cooperative neurons grow and change. We play different roles in different contexts. The evidence reviewed here indicates that we are ever-changing, have free will, and have responsibility for our own freely chosen actions. The chapter also discusses the human search for purpose in life. The evidence on cooperative neurons is interpreted as indicating that we can find purpose for ourselves by seeking, with others, for purpose beyond ourselves.
Publisher
Oxford University PressOxford
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