William Shakespeare famously said, 'What's in a name? That which we call a rose by any other name would smell as sweet.' Our names do not define us although they may be important and significant to us, they have no bearing on our sense of self. If we take the relational approach, we often believe that we exist in relation to other people and the objects around us. But, if we take those things away, we're still here, we're just alone, and perhaps a bit bored and lonely. This is known as the subject-object relationship. So maybe our sense of self is determined by our thoughts? We all know Descartes's iconic mantra, 'Cogito, ergo sum,' or 'I think, therefore I am.' However, Singer argues that our selves are not our thoughts either.Īlthough we experience feelings and emotions towards the people or material objects we're surrounded by, we still remain separate from them. Again, if we look at the subject-object relationship, we can see why this is. Our thoughts are like our emotions they're separate from us. To illustrate this, think about when your thoughts are the most acute. It's likely that you're most aware of your thoughts when you're bored or alone.
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