ABSTRACT
Butler does not argue for, but simply presupposes, that a person is conscious ofhis self. Bertrand Russell, on the other hand, in The Problems of Philosophy (1912: ch.V), gives us an argument:
The question whether we are acquainted with our bare selves, as opposed to particular thoughts and feelings, is a very difficult one, upon which it would be rash to speak positively. When we try to look into ourselves we always seem to come upon some particular thought or feeling, and not upon the 'I' which has the thought or feeling. Nevertheless there are some reasons for thinking that we are acquainted with the 'I'.
