ABSTRACT
Although studies in developmental psychology have led some psychologists to postulate direct knowledge of an ecological self, the validity of such a concept has been questioned by others. Both philosophers and scientists have exposed puzzles that result from distinguishing between observer and observed. This has led some to propose multiple selves, highlighted by the case of split-brain patients. A more radical solution is the Eastern notion of anatman, the view that the personal self is an illusion, a conclusion reached independently through logical argument by several current philosophers. Recent analyses in artificial intelligence have also dispensed with the notion of an executive. It is concluded that work in current Western philosophy, artificial intelligence and neuroscience accords with ancient Eastern philosophy, in denying our everyday conception of the existence of a self as perceiver and agent.
