Ellis,

Your point raises the question of "levels of consciousness". Those who meditate claim to leave the "normal self" behind and transcend to a timeless ineffable state one of "oneness with the universe". (See Krishnamurti for example). I make no claim for this personally. I agree that the "normal self" certainly disappears during sleep, and "dies" with the body. It also seems to be the case that "self" is an unruly committee evoked and manipulated by situation. Its perceived unity may be an illusion sustained by the social convention of having a "name" and thereby being "socially accountable".Internal conversations aka "thinking" are social events involving different members of the committee.(See Gurdjieff). It may be that "transcendence" involves seeing the committee for what it is...shedding "the illusion of the self"...or indeed simulating "death".

The problem with Occam's Razor is that it operates on standard epistemology (for "normal selves") which seeks causal explanation. Those who advocate holistic epistemologies have de facto rejected "cause" and its running mates "prediction" and "control". And it may be that we are ultimately hampered by the structure of "language" in making joint "sense" of these issues.

Last edited by eccles; 04/29/09 07:53 AM.