Sense Of Self Archives

Illustration of a shadowy, humanoid creature with glowing eyes, long fingers, and pointed ears, hunched over against a green background.

How one decision can create “a new self”

From Copernicus to Flatland, Yale philosopher L.A. Paul shares examples of transformative experiences, and how participating in them changes more than just your mindset.

L.A. Paul

6mins

Perception Box

How your brain builds and edits your identity

The voice in your head feels like your own, but it’s actually constructed by neurological processes. Three experts explain how this system shapes both perception and identity.

Ethan Kross, Heather Berlin & Nicole Vignola

Unlikely Collaborators

Person with long hair, wearing a brown blazer, surrounded by text bubbles labeled "Narrative," "Negativity Bias," and "Confirmation Bias." Arrows connect the bubbles.

6mins

Perception Box

A neuroscientist’s guide to building a more positive reality

We’re all assigned a label at some point in our lives. You might be the smart one, the creative one or the lazy one. But is that designation really an […]

Nicole Vignola

Unlikely Collaborators

The Well

Actually, neuroscience suggests “the self” is real

If the "self" is not real, then we are slaves to a billiard ball universe, trapped in a nihilistic nightmare in which we cannot change our fate.

Bobby Azarian

John Templeton Foundation

A faint, grayscale image of a classical statue’s face with soft features and minimal details visible against a plain background.

4mins

The Well

The science of the “self”

How do “you” emerge from a collection of cells? A biologist explains.

Michael Levin

a painting of a man standing next to a tree.

The Well

Eastern philosophy says there is no “self.” Science agrees

“Why are you unhappy? Because 99.9 percent of everything you think, and of everything you do, is for yourself — and there isn’t one.”

Chris Niebauer

John Templeton Foundation

A man undergoing a face transplant glare at the camera in a dimly lit room.

Neuropsych

What happens to a person’s sense of self after a face transplant?

This was largely a philosophical question until 2005, when a surgical team in France performed the first partial face transplant.

Mo Costandi

A person in a bowler hat stands before red curtains; next to them is a silhouette with a sky and clouds pattern matching the background.

8mins

The Well

The neuroscience of spiritual experiences

Experimental neuroscientist Patrick McNamara on how we can harness spiritual experiences to explore alternate realities in our minds, and transform our models of the self.

Patrick McNamara