I am what I am not.

I am not what I am.

Jean-Paul Sartre

The concept horse is not a concept.

Gottlob Frege

What is the self? This is my interpretation.

It is unique among things in the world in that it is a subject, while everything else consists of objects. The self is not an object, and therefore cannot be the object of its own subjectivity. The self cannot observe itself directly, for anything that is observed is being observed by the self, and hence is not identical with the self.

It is impossible, according to Frege, to properly refer to a concept, since a concept is not an object (it is something that obtains for certain objects, like a predicate). As soon as we construct the phrase “the concept horse,” we are no longer talking about a concept but rather an object. No objects obtain the concept concept. The self as a subject is a similar situation. We cannot properly even talk about our selves, because it is not possible to refer to something that is not an object. As soon as we say the word “I,” we are not talking about a self but rather a self-image.

How, then, can the self be defined or identified? Precisely and only by observing those things which are not the self. “I” am defined completely by all the things in the world that are not me. I can observe my own thoughts, sensations, and emotions, therefore these things do not constitute my self. Anything I can observe I can be sure is not my self. Anything I identify with– being a living organism, being a human, being a brother, and so on –are external to myself. Those things are what I “am” but they are not “me.” Even a reflection is an external image; we can never truly be the objects of our own subjectivity: we cannot observe our selves.

Nor can another’s self be the object of our subjectivity. Selves are pure subjects. In this sense, that selves cannot be observed or directly referred to, the self is nothing. Or, to put it in more neurological terms, the self is something that happens, not something that exists. It is the phenomenon of subjective experience which is an active function of the brain.

This is why I disagree with the common materialist position that “you are your brain” or “you are your body.” I stand firm on this issue and insist that no, you are no object at all, no thing, nothing.