myself the responsibility of whatever I think, feel or act. As the acts
were willed by me, I cannot escape from their consequences,^
whatever their nature, good or bad. “Without personal identity,” as
Bradley said, “responsibility is sheer nonsense.”(6)
II. Self and MemoryIt may be contended, however, that our identity does not depend
on the ego, which is only the sum total of our states of
consciousness. It is memory which, by linking our experiences to
each other, serves as the basis of our self-identity. If memory is
taken away, we would lose our sense of identity. The inadequacy of
this view can easily be demonstrated. It is true that the self cannot
be conceived as existing outside the course of mental phenomena,
as the body cannot be said to be something other than the organs of
which it is composed. But just as the living body is something more
than the sum of its parts, so the self is more than the mental acts
taken together. Both the mind and body are wholes and must be
regarded as such. To analyse them into parts, as if the parts were real
and not the wholes, is to miss their real nature. The self as a whole,
possesses a reality of its own. It is the “I” or the self which wills,
thinks and feels. It expresses itself in various ways. To affirm the self
is to affirm its identity. The point may be easily elucidated. Suppose
a man whose hand has been paralysed wants to seize something. He
wills to catch it but his hand remains inert. It is obvious that the hand
could not have been the willing agent as willing occurs even when
the hand has been incapacitated. The willing agent remains although
the instrument is usually employed is no longer of any use. Again,
the self recalls its past by means of the brain tissues which retain
traces of past experiences. If the brain is seriously injured, the self
has lost an instrument which was essential for recalling the past. If
our radio set is out of order, we cannot listen to the days’ broadcast
programme, but we do not believe that the broadcasting has been
stopped. Again, suppose I am looking at my image in a mirror. If by
chance the mirror is shattered, the image too disappears. However,
the person who was reflected in the mirror does not disappear. The
medium was destroyed but not that which is mediated. The brain is
such a medium on which the self impresses its states. The brain does
Islam: A Challenge to Religion 73