The Self Illusion: Why There is No 'You' Inside Your Head

by Bruce Hood

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Book cover for The Self Illusion

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Most of us believe that we possess a self - an internal individual who resides inside our bodies, making decisions, authoring actions and possessing free will. The feeling that a single, unified, enduring self inhabits the body - the 'me' inside me - is compelling and inescapable. This is how we interact as a social animal and judge each other's actions and deeds. But that sovereignty of the self is increasingly under threat from science as our understanding of the brain advances. Rather than a single entity, the self is really a constellation of mechanisms and experiences that create the illusion of the internal you.

We only emerge as a product of those around us as part of the different storylines we inhabit from the cot to the grave. It is an ever changing character, created by the brain to provide a coherent interface between the multitude of internal processes and the external world demands that require different selves.

  • ISBN10 1780331371
  • ISBN13 9781780331379
  • Publish Date 19 April 2012
  • Publish Status Active
  • Publish Country GB
  • Publisher Little, Brown Book Group
  • Imprint Constable
  • Edition Digital original
  • Format eBook
  • Pages 272
  • Language English