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.
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