ME
We have completed our journey through objective and subjective,
approval conscience and natural conscience, and the rule of law. Now,
finally, let me suggest a definition of me. I hope you are not too
disappointed. Me is simply the set of experiences on which Mercy thought
can continue to concentrate.A My me differs from your me. I suggest that it
is our finite physical bodies which are responsible for this distinction: I
look out at the world through a different pair of eyes than you do; I
manipulate the world with a differing set of hands; my brain and body
occupy a different physical location. You and I may know the identical
facts, have the same understanding and develop similar skills, but try as we
may, we simply cannot be in the same physical space. Whenever we
attempt to bring our bodies too close together they bump into each other
and refuse to move any closer.
Me is the memories on which Mercy mode can continue to concentrate.The close relationship between our me and our physical body is
illustrated by our behavior. Most of our attempts to change me involve
alterations in our physical appearance: We put on disguises in order to
pretend that we are someone else, we cover up our body in order to hide
who we are, and we go on diets or buy new clothes in order to project a
new image of me.
What, fundamentally, is a physical body? It is just an object. In the
same way that a „car‟ is a combination of wheels, doors, motor and other
„body‟ parts arranged in some specific way, so my physical body is a
combination of legs, arms, head and other body parts arranged in a
particular manner. This
similarity is also evident in
neurology: The same area of the
brain—right parietal cortex—is
responsible for both object
recognition and body
recognition. The same mental
processing which tells me that
wheels and doors belong
together in a car also informs
A Remember, whenever referring to the Mercy experiences of personal
identity, I put the word me in bold case: me.