this post was submitted on 06 Jun 2026
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Haha, I think I'd enjoy a long discussion with You on this topic around a drink or something!
I come from a totally different direction, yet I agree that the self is an illusion. I think that humans and everything we make is part of nature, even if it's hard to see the similarities.
What exactly is a self? Is it the body of a person including gut biome? Only the collection of all the cells with the same DNA? Or the nerves only, or the brain only? Or is the self an emergent abstract construct resulting from the reactions occurring inside the brain?
Or maybe the self is the bosy and it's direct environment it shaped (the clothes, the house, etc.)? Are offsprings part of the self? Is the extended family part of the self? Are we the part of Earth's biosphere used for thinking?Are we the universe being counscious of itself?
I like to understand genocide as a bad thing because it reduces biodiversity, and thus reduces the chances of our species' survival. Since our species is currently the only one capable of interplanetary travel, we are the biosphere's best tool to continue growing forever!
Ah, so your axiom is that life is good. A pretty neat axiom, but still an axiom. Still an arbitrary choice you made of what to value, heavily informed by your home culture and your instincts.
I have three ethical axioms:
When My hand is cut, I feel pain. I feel it because My nerves send the information that damage is happening to My brain. When Hypothetical Harry's hand is cut, he feels pain, but I do not. I don't feel pain because there are no nerves connecting his hand to My brain. That's a limit imposed upon My perceptions by the laws of physics. Since I don't respect those, I ought to treat his hand being cut the same as My hand being cut. This is the philosophical foundation of My approach to empathy and kindness.