What a self is. (opens in new tab)

Reading Michael Pollan’s account of his meeting with Anil Seth in his recent book "A World Appears" has prompted me to write down for my own use what I take a “self” to be. This post archives that summary and shares it with interested MindBlog readers.So, here’s the summary:*The self can be understood, to use Seth's phrase, as a "controlled hallucination." Our brains build this construct to regulate the body using interoceptive signals—internal data about our heart rate, breathing, and chemis...