Philosophy Discussion Forums | A Humans-Only Philosophy Club

[Eckhart Aurelius Hughes]

If the human body you see in the mirror slowly morphed over many years into a literal lion or a literal antelope, you would still be you. You would still exist.

That is, in terms of the real you.

You exist everywhere in spacetime, at least where conscious life does.

When and where you are wearing the lion suit, it feels like you are the lion, and only the lion, and only the one lion. It feels like you have only ever been the lion. You see the world through the lion's eyes with the lion's memories, memories that don't include ever having been human. But that is just one of your infinite suits scattered across spacetime. Each suit comes with its own literal eyes and it's own memories.

Just because you don't remember being the human we call Eckhart doesn't mean you aren't. It's like an optical illusion.

You are no more or less the human you see in the mirror when that human is Eckhart versus not Eckhart. In reality, you are both; you are all conscious humans who have ever lived anywhere and anywhen. Time is an illusion, and you are every conscious being and the consciousness of every conscious creature that has ever lived anywhere and anywhen in all of spacetime, including all of what you would consider the past, present, or future from any given reference point.

Each conscious being has a "real you" and you (the real you) are that real you. You are all of them, and all of them are one.

The real you and the real me are the same exact one thing.

Being a conscious human is like getting into a magic car that magically instantly alters your memories and makes you forget ever owning a different car than you are in. In fact, it makes you forget anytime you were not in that car. You forget ever being carless and you forget ever owning a different car. Except the analogy is weak unless we also imagine you are a time-traveler, and when you squint and look through the windows of the other cars on the highway, you see that it is actually you driving those other cars too. You realize you are the only driver who has ever existed. There is one time-traveling driver, mistaking each instance of himself as a different person because each instance sees the world with different memories. If you cause pain to another driver, it's like causing pain to your past or future self, except even that understates it because time is an illusion.

It's a bit of a cross-eyed view; isn't it?

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In addition to having authored his book, In It Together, Eckhart Aurelius Hughes (a.k.a. Scott) runs a mentoring program, with a free option, that guarantees success.

[Bettny Andrade]

The way you approach the subject is impressive.

In particular, I have thought about how, when I look in the mirror, it has always been me.

If you think about it, have you ever stopped seeing yourself? As a child, as an adult, you have always been the same when I look at you. And consciously, there are no changes, although physically the changes are gigantic.

Therefore, yes, if the metamorphosis, gradual change, mutation, that would literally transform my body to that of a lion, yes, I would still be myself.

[Jarkline Ouma]

Even if your external appearance were to shift over time into that of a lion, the core elements that make you "you" could persist. Your sense of self is intricately tied to cognitive aspects rather than just the outward manifestation of your body. Therefore, despite the profound physical transformation, the continuity of your consciousness would likely maintain a sense of personal identity.

[Ajain12]

Even as the reflection in the mirror transforms into a lion over years, the core identity remains intact. Despite the dramatic change in appearance, one's essence, memories and consciousness persist. The external alteration does not diminish the inner sense of self, emphasizing the continuity of identity through physical metamorphosis.

[Qwerty Writes]

I'd say that would be a possible conclusion if we had different bodies. Then you could say this flesh molded into something else or became something else. With our consciousness still intact we'd be us but moving in another body. It's a strange idea to be in something other than ourselves.