Ego and the Self

From the guide

You have a name, a history, opinions, a body you call yours and a voice in your head that comments on everything. It seems obvious that there is a "you" at the centre of all this, a single, continuous self looking out from behind your eyes. But look closely, and the obvious becomes strange.

Neuroscience has found no single place in the brain where the self lives. Instead, the sense of self appears to be constructed moment to moment by many processes, some of which can be switched off or altered. Two and a half thousand years ago, the Buddha taught that no permanent self can be found in experience. The Upanishads taught, by contrast, that beneath the changing personality lies a true Self that is pure awareness. And modern psychology insists that a healthy, stable ego is essential for a good life.

Can all of these be true? This guide explores what brain science says about the self, what the great contemplative traditions teach, and how to hold these perspectives together. It looks at experiences of ego dissolution, the risks of trying to transcend the ego too soon, and practices for loosening the grip of self-preoccupation while keeping your feet on the ground.

Every claim is labelled. The question "who am I?" sits exactly where science, philosophy and spirituality meet, and it helps to know which voice is speaking.