We now approach the heart of our Problem; the central core of Being!
The consciousness of self is ingrained in every one of us; we feel
our own inner being, our true self, our personal identity, our
individuality, as something unique and exclusive. What is this Self?
What are thoughts, and who is the Thinker that thinks them? Are
the two identical, or are the thoughts expressions of the flow of
consciousness? What is the true Self--of what is it composed--and what
relation has it to the other functions and processes of the mind which
go on, and which are in some mysterious way related to it? Only a brief
answer to these questions can be attempted in this Chapter; for many
lengthy volumes have been written upon this question alone.
Our stream of consciousness is _continuous_ (except during sleep);
states of mind tend to succeed each other. Let us grant this to begin
with. The mind seems to be _selective_ in its action, it is changing
within itself, as time passes; no two states of consciousness are ever
precisely alike. Further, “all consciousness tends to personal form”--a
very important fact indeed. A flow of more or less continuous thought
goes on; these thoughts follow one another logically in sequence. (In
insane patients, of course, they are not logical. I speak here merely
of the normal mind. Also, it must be emphasized that nothing in this
Chapter touches upon the subconscious mind, unless special mention is
made of that fact.) Each thought seems to be personal to the thinker;
it is not merely thought in itself. It is _my_ thought. This flow of
thought is in constant change; it flows as life itself flows; on the
other hand, thought is sensibly continuous! The mental life might here
be compared to a river, which eddies and swirls, as it flows, but is
the same water, nevertheless.
One of the objects of thinking is to reach certain conclusions. We
might compare thought to a bird in flight; its object is to perch
upon yon branch; its flight is a necessary transitive stage _to_
the branch. The chain of intermediate thought corresponds, on our
analogy, to the bird’s flight. This flight is very different, in the
case of different people; with some, it is straight and rapid; with
others, it is tortuous and lengthy. That is why different people think
differently. About each thought is a sort of halo of relations, dimming
off, as it recedes, into other things. This is the so-called “fringe of
consciousness.” All thought is related to other thought, more or less
directly. Knowledge _about_ a thing is knowledge of its _relations_.
When I am thinking, I am aware of my _personal existence_; at the same
time _I_ am aware. There thus seems to be a double self within the
Self--the Self as known, and the Self as knower. James calls the former
the “ME” and the latter the “I.” Let us consider each of these in turn.
_The Me._--This comprises all that a man can call _his_; the most
important of these spiritual possessions are (1) the material me; (2)
the social me; and (3) the spiritual me.
The _Material Me_ consists in (a) his body, and (b) his possessions.
_The Social Me_ is the side he shows to his friends and acquaintances;
this varies greatly in differing environments, so that it has been said
that “a man has as many social selves as there are individuals who
recognize him.” His name, fame, reputation, success, etc., are classed
as parts of this Me. _The Spiritual Me_ includes passing states of
consciousness; it is that part of us which “goes out” to meet other
thoughts. Feelings and emotions affect this Me; self-appreciation,
self-satisfaction (or the reverse), self-complacency, etc., vitally
affect this Me. Self-seeking and self-preservation are a part of it.
These various Selves clash and conflict, to a certain extent, among
themselves; they do not all want the same thing. “Happiness” probably
consists largely in having all these Selves working together in
harmony, to the same end.
_The I._--This was called the “pure ego” by the older psychologists. It
seems to be the background of the personality--the string upon which
the pearls of thought are strung. Is there a real “string,” or are the
pearls merely separate, succeeding one another, as if they were thus
strung?
That is a difficult question. Passing thought appears to be a unity;
yet it consists of a number of different elements; there is no “fusing”
of thought. Ideas, thoughts, in this unlike material threads, cannot be
woven together upon nothing; there must be some background other than
themselves. The human _Soul_ has been postulated as this “permanent
background,” uniting the whole, and withstanding the shock of death.
If true, this would serve to explain the facts, and at the same time
give us hope for survival. But whether or not such a soul exists at all
is a matter of controversy! In the absence of its proof, we must, says
Science--reject it. Consequently, we have today a “psychology without a
soul.” Attempts have been made to explain the facts without resorting
to it.
The usual argument is somewhat as follows: There seem to be single,
successive pulses in the stream of thought, constituting the Ego. These
vary and change; they succeed one another. May not consciousness, then,
consist merely _in_ such successive states of consciousness; may it not
in truth be composed of them--just as a succession of pearls may exist
without a unifying string? Each thought, on this hypothesis, in some
way gives birth to the next, which also inherits its content; in other
words, _the thoughts themselves are the thinkers_. Were this true,
we should have no “abiding entity,” but merely a successive series of
thoughts, constituting the stream of consciousness; this stream in turn
composing the true Self. Which of these views is the correct one can
only be proved by showing that survival in some form exists; and this
can only be accomplished by Psychical Research! (See my little book
upon that subject, in the present series.)
* * * * *
(Mutations, multiplications, etc., of the Self, have been touched upon
in the Section devoted to Abnormal Psychology; Insanity in its own
section; mediumships, possessions, etc., in the book just mentioned.)