Some would self-deprecate "Self"

A friend of mine in Facebook commented just now that she has "....decided that the self does not exist and thus I do not exist and therefore I do not need to do the essay" for her uni assignment.

I replied to her (and yes, I am repeating myself!) - The very fact that she (and Susan Blackmore for that matter who really does believe there is no self!) has mused and come to the conclusion that "self" does not exist, means in reality that it does! The self surely cannot dispute that it does not exist unless the self actually does! What or who is being tricked into a feeling of "self" if it is not the self?! In my opinion, this is the only occurrence of a "proof" of absence that actually implies a proof of presence. Where else other than in the nascent science of consciousness would such a crazy enigma arise!

This situation smacks of quantum mechanics, where a particle can be both present and absent at a specific location at the same time. This is yet another reason why I think the enigma of inanimate matter becoming animate then evolving into a state of exquisite self-reflectiveness must surely be mediated by the equally non-intuitive process of quantum mechanics! This idea is poo-poo'd by leading neurologists and brain scientists keen not to appear crazy to their peers - but they'll all be dead soon, and the "young turks" can pick up the baton and not be afraid to think laterally.

Overpowered by a feeling of senseless lack of purpose in life?

Underlying the fervour of religious faith is the "horror" of reality - that which cannot be addressed for fear of being overpowered by a feeling of senseless lack of purpose in life.

But nothing could be more senseless than believing in a "loving" god who: (i) gives us free will and original sin then commands us to do what he wants us to, or else be commited to an eternity of hell, and, (ii) also has sex with his own mother to father himself then prays to himself because he can't remember why he forsook himself as he sacrifices himself to himself to save us from the sin that he originally condemned us to!

Oh - those alarm bells they resound so loudly. And yet they are all too readily ignored by those who want/need to remain informed by and remain in the comfortable arms of cherry-picked biblical passages. Oh the joyous bliss - ignoring the fact of course that had they been born in another country with different religious traditions, their current beliefs would be anathema.

Bertrand Russel said: "There is something feeble and a little contemptible about a man who cannot face the perils of life without the help of comfortable myths. Almost inevitably some part of him is aware that they are myths and that he believes them only because they are comforting. But he dares not face this thought! Moreover, since he is aware, however dimly, that his opinions are not rational, he becomes furious when they are disputed."

If we could reason with religious people, there would be no religious people! But I simply like to get this off my chest occasionally!