Who Am I? The Self and Identity

From Descartes' 'I think therefore I am' to the Upanishadic insight that the Self is beyond thought itself. Five lessons exploring the deepest question humans have ever asked.

Lessons in this chapter

• Does Thinking Prove You Exist? — Descartes said 'I think therefore I am.' Yajnavalkya went further.
• Are You the Same Person You Were Ten Years Ago? — The Taittiriya's five sheaths vs Hume's bundle theory of self.
• Can You Define Yourself by Saying What You Are Not? — Yajnavalkya's Neti Neti method and the power of negation.
• Is Your Deepest Self the Same as Everyone Else's? — Tat Tvam Asi meets Jung's collective unconscious.
• If the Self Is Eternal, Why Do We Fear Death? — Nachiketa debates Death himself. Heidegger calls it Being-toward-death.

Back to The Big Questions: Upanishads and the Philosophers Who Followed