Chapter
Sixteen
Egos, bundles, and theories of self
that thinks, and acts, and suffers’ (1785, p. 318). The
thoughts and actions and feelings may come and go,
but the self or I to which they belong is permanent. In
other words, Reid appealed to ego theory.
These two views capture a fundamental split in the
way people think about the nature of self. On the
one hand, ego theorists believe in continuously
existing selves who are subjects of experience and
who think, act, and feel. On the other hand, bundle
theorists deny there is any such thing.
As Hume knew all too well, bundle theory is counter-
intuitive, for the non-existence of my self is difficult
even to contemplate. But there are many good
reasons at least to try. We will begin with some
extraordinary case histories challenging the natural
assumption that each human being has one con-
scious self.MULTIPLE PERSONALITY
On 17 January 1887, an itinerant preacher called
Ansel Bourne walked into a bank in Providence,
Rhode Island, withdrew $551, paid some bills, and
got into a horse-car bound for Pawtucket. Nothing
more was heard of him for two months. The local
papers advertised him as missing and the police
hunted in vain.
Two weeks later, a Mr A. J. Brown rented a small
shop in Norristown, Pennsylvania, stocked it with
stationery, confectionery, and fruit, and set up a
quiet trade. He went to Philadelphia to replenish his
stock, slept and cooked in the back room, regularly
attended church, and, according to neighbours,
was quiet, orderly, and ‘in no way queer’. Then, at
5 a.m. on 14 March he was woken by an explosion
to find himself feeling weak and afraid and in an
unfamiliar bed. Calling for help, he said his name
was Ansel Bourne, he knew nothing of Norristown
or shopkeeping, and the last thing he remembered
was taking money out of a bank in Providence. His
neighbours thought him insane and so, at first, did
the doctor. But, happily, they did as he asked and
telegraphed his nephew in Providence. A reply
came swiftly back and soon the Rev. Ansel Bourne
was taken home.Early in 1890 William James and Richard Hodgson
conceived the idea of hypnotising Bourne to see‘I am not thought, I am
not action, I am not
feeling: I am something
that thinks, and acts,
and suffers’
(Reid, 1785, p. 318)
eGo AnD BUnDLe tHeoRIes
oF seLFego theory
the reason each of us feels like a continuous,
unified self is because we are. Underlying the
ever-changing experiences of our lives, there is
a self who experiences all these different things.
this self may (indeed must) change gradually
as life goes on, but it is still essentially the same
‘me’. In other words, according to any kind of
ego theory, the self is a continuous entity that
is the subject of a person’s experiences and the
author of their actions and decisions.
Ego theories include:
Cartesian dualism
Immortal souls
Reincarnating spirits
Gazzaniga’s interpreter
macKay’s self-supervisory system
Add your own examples...Bundle theory
the feeling that each of us is a continuous, unified self
is an illusion. there is no such self, but only a series of
experiences linked loosely together in various ways. Bun-
dle theory does not deny that each of us seems to be a
continuous conscious being. It denies that there is any
continuously existing entity which explains that appear-
ance. there are experiences, but there is no one who has
them. Actions and decisions happen but not because there
is someone who acts and decides.
Bundle theories include:
the Buddhist notion of anatta, or no-self
Hume’s bundle of sensations
self as a product of discourse
Dennett’s no audience in the Cartesian theatre
Add your own examples...C
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