Single Idea 7148

[catalogued under 16. Persons / E. Rejecting the Self / 4. Denial of the Self]

Full Idea

The 'I' (which is not the same thing as the unitary government of our being!) is, after all, only a conceptual synthesis - thus there is no acting from 'egoism'.

Gist of Idea

The 'I' is a conceptual synthesis, not the governor of our being

Source

Friedrich Nietzsche (Writings from Late Notebooks [1887], 01[87])

Book Reference

Nietzsche,Friedrich: 'Writings from the Late Notebooks', ed/tr. Bittner,Rüdiger [CUP 2003], p.61


A Reaction

Compare Sartre in Idea 7116. Since I am inclined to define the self as the controller of the brain, I am intrigued by the remark in brackets. Presumably he considers the self to be a fiction, and that animals don't have one. I think, probably, animals do.

Related Idea

Idea 7116 When we are unreflective (as when chasing a tram) there is no 'I' [Sartre]