Who Am I?
After spending a lifetime pondering over this question, I now find it to be pointless.
Why? You ask? Let me pose a counter question. Can you ever accurately answer this? At best the answer can be incomplete. For example, I am a human, a man, a son, a father a husband, and the list goes on. I am an Asian, an Indian, but if I take the citizenship of the US of A, I will be an American?
So, does a piece of paper stamped by someone who doesn’t even know me define my identity more than my DNA?
Considering that DNA is used to identify criminals, paternity and even the deceased, reconsider whether I will be an Indian or an American. Talking about DNA, it will still be there when I die, but it will not be me. DNA is in every cell of my body. So, when a large part of my jaw is removed, which of the two pieces is me? One may say that the larger piece is me, and I would get it if it was not for the following mystery-
None of the cells in my body today are the ones that I was born with and if I believe the scientists, all cells currently in my body will be replaced by other ones in next 7 to 8 years. So which combinations of cell am I really? To complicate it if the knees and liver and the heart all get transplanted, do I still remain me? On the flip side if my brain gets damaged and I lose all my memory do I still remain me?
With every breath and supper, I am taking in atoms and molecules that are not me and become me though the metabolic processes and then equally stop being me as they escape back to the environment. I am quite convinced that defining anything physical as me will at best give me an incomplete answer.
Similarly, everything mental and psychological, also keep changing over time with my experiences. My thoughts change over time and sometimes I let go of some thoughts and also forget some things. If I define myself as my mind, that too is incomplete.
So, Who am I?
My identity is a concept that is a blip in the fabric of time. Quite like a drop that gets formed when I throw a pebble in a ditch, only to fall back in the pond and disappear, I am just a temporary and random combination of matter and energy (or maybe only energy if E=mC^2).
Why then, has the identity become so important that it is the single biggest driving force in all our decisions? My bet is on the survival of life.
In my research on the mechanisms of life, when the chemicals keep creating more energy than they dissipate, they can start replicating and life happens. The ability of this system of chemicals to detect and respond to unfavorable changes in the environment keeps life going. Under the influence of environment, these chemical systems undergo some predictable and some random changes. Those changes that are unable to guard the chemical balance cannot replicate anymore and go extinct. This is what I guess leads to evolution of complexity in life.
Our DNA is a record of all the favorable changes that keep our replication going on. Protecting the entire life at the same time seems impossible, so the mechanism favors sensing threats to a limited cluster that can be realistically defended. As an example, a soldier who identifies with his nation, and a terrorist who identifies with his religion more than his individual body would readily die to protect the identity they hold dear.
Through a set of chemical (feelings) and electrical (thoughts) manipulations, our identity tries to protect us from all threats- real or perceived. Being the main motivator of our actions, it is also the main source of control over us by those seeking to harness our power. More about is some other day.
For now, I am just a concept trying to defend myself in order to increase my chances of survival.
So "Who" are You?