Ok, I'll try to answer posts both by Albert and Acutely Decayed.
As far as I understand this theory, a single "self" can never be identical at any two moments in time, simply because there is no such thing as a static self. And I don't mean it just in Heraclitus' sense ("You cannot step twice into the same river.") - self model is a dynamic process, ever changing representation constanlty updated by all accessible input from various subsystems of the brian processing proprioception, vision (senses, generally), emotions, and yes, of course, memory.
Transparency is not invisbility - I admit that for a long time I was confused by the way Metzinger uses this term as well. Fenomenal representation is transparent when it does not contain the informaton that it is a only representation. In other words, things are transparent when you experience them as real, as "being out there". Of course transparency is just a depiction created by our brain. Things can be depicted
as real, but can also be depictes
as a simulation - as in lucid dreaming or pseudohalucinations, when you realize (not just intelectually - the very quality of your expereince tells you this) that what you experience is actually just a construct.
And so, the self being transparent simply means we cannot experience it as just a construct, a simulation. It does however become opaque at times - as in some deep meditative states, result of hallucinogens, or in some neurological syndromes as
. (I also recommend this great essay by Metzinger -
).
06-24-2010
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