I Am an Abstraction, Therefore I Am

Sharlow, Mark (2007) I Am an Abstraction, Therefore I Am.

Abstract

In this paper I examine a new variant of the well-known idea that the self is an abstract object. I propose a simple model of the self as a property of temporal slices of a body's history. I argue that this model, when combined with even a modest realism with regard to properties, implies that the self has many of the chief features traditionally attributed to selves. I conclude that this model allows one to reconcile the full reality of the self with even the most deflationary materialistic theories of consciousness.