Michael Miller

Psychology 115W

Joe Lappin

10-15-02

The Storms of Change:

Comments on Page 144 of Damasio’s Book

The human body is one of the most complex biological mechanisms that exist. It is unique in that it houses something very special, and infinitely unique—the self. Oddly, the human body changes all the time. As Damasio states, “Most parts of us perish during our lifetime only to be substituted by other perishable parts… no component remains the same for very long.”[1] A layer of skin is shed every two weeks, and a new head of hair comes in every month or two. Even the cells within the body are constantly dying and being replaced by new cells that will die as well. With all this change going on, it is a wonder that anyone is able to hold their identity for an extended period of time. The human mind and the self are able to uniquely change while retaining the information of who we are through the existence and influence of the autobiographical self and cellular “consciousness.”

In order to understand how the self is able to retain its identity through so much change going on throughout the body, one must first zoom in to the cellular level of existence. The life of a cell is short and simple. It lives to carry out a specific function that it has been designed to carry out, and then it dies. When this cell is replaced, how is it that it doesn’t magically become the cell of a big mouth bass? The answer is in the cell’s “memory.” A cell’s memory does not exist like a person’s memory does. It lies in the information encoded in the DNA, just like a person stores information in the brain. It is with this memory that the cell can undergo changes, die, and still be replaced by a cell that is able to carry out the same functions without destroying the organism which it inhabits or itself. Through this process on a grander scale, the human body is able to undergo this dying and constant rebirth without losing its identity, shape, and function.

The body is not something tough to see as stable, but the mind is something that is tougher to understand. The brain and the connections between its precious neurons are changing throughout a person’s lifetime. Since even the brain is being altered, what keeps the person and the “self” of that person from being changed over time? It begins in the most basic level of consciousness.

The proto self is a throwback to the earliest forms of life. It is the “nonconscious collection of representations of the multiple dimensions of current organism state.”[2] In other words this is the nonconscious realization of what is going on within the body. This is the way the “self” begins to exist. It is a constant monitoring of the internal actions continually happening throughout the body. The unchanged self begins here because it is this proto-self that remains unchanged when the body changes. In its vigilant monitoring of the body, it may cause changes to the body in order to compensate for a problem located perhaps in the form of an unbalanced hormone; however, even though the body changes, the proto-self remains the same. It is essential that the proto-self remain unchanged since it stands as the foundation of extended consciousness.

The proto-self does not directly mark the beginning of self as the name might suggest. The core self is where the idea of self first begins to develop due to its more complex nature. While the proto self merely handled the interior chaos of the body, the core self is “a transient but conscious reference to the individual organism in which events are happening.”[3] The core self is that which realizes and deciphers what changes an object causes the body to make. These objects can range from a bright fire near someone’s face to the memory of a light kiss. It is a conscious understanding of how that object affects the organism, and this affect can trigger the organism to act upon the object. Unlike the proto self, the core self is constantly changing to readjust itself to the new objects that are presented to the object. This change is as necessary for the stability of the extended consciousness as the unchanging proto-self was.

The explanation of the proto-self and the core self are vital to the understanding of how the mind can remain “itself” while undergoing so many changes. The autobiographical self is a component that arises out of the existence of the proto-self and the core self, but it is also created by an immensely important factor—autobiographical memory. The autobiographical memory is exactly what it appears to be: “an organized record of past experiences of an individual organism.”[4] This is the compilation of every action and event that is associated with the core self. It is simply a history of the organism. This, combined with the core self creates the autobiographical self.

The autobiographical self is the key to unlocking the questions posed at the beginning of the paper. A human being and its self rely completely on the autobiographical self to keep that person from “changing” in immense ways. The self that every person sees in their own being is created and held together by the memories of the past, the actions of the present, and the planning of the future. Even though the body and its individual cells are dying and being replaced at a surprisingly high rate, the self is able to maintain its qualities because of the memories that a person holds in his or her head.

Every scientist agrees that there is a certain amount of predisposition found in people when they are born. This predisposition is brought about by genetic information passed through a bloodline. This information can be seen and interpreted as part of a person throughout his or her lifetime. The battle as to whether culture or genetics has more effect on what kind of person someone may turn out to be still rages in almost every culture. By looking at Damasio’s work, it seems that culture is indeed the culprit for creating such beings. Since memories play such an important role in what choices people make and how they act, it is simple to see why the self changes in such small ways. Memories are constant even though our environment isn’t.

A great example of how essentially people remain who they are, but their personalities can be molded by experience is easiest to see in those who have been around the longest and have the most memory stores to draw upon. I called my grandfather a few nights ago, and I asked him about his life, and what all he remembers from so long ago. This is a man whose self has existed along with his body for 82 years. He has undergone more change than any student at this school could comprehend.

Larry Miller was a young man who made few friends, but he valued all of the immensely. He was quiet and highly introspective. The value of knowledge was not lost upon him, and he dedicated much of his time to learning. When he spoke, he was always heard by his peers, and when he grew, this legacy remained. His children valued his opinion and believed in the threats that parents always make on their progeny. His body and mind have weathered storms more powerful than any hurricane or tornado can produce. He’s lived through battles in World War II, the loss of his wife and one of his son’s, and the birth of six different grandchildren. He’s ridden emotional roller coasters that would send my head spinning. Having undergone all of this, he remains a quiet man who values knowledge. He is quiet, but when he speaks, there still remains an air of importance with his words. He told me that he believes that he has changed as the result of some of his experiences, but there is still a looming shadow of the boy he once was. His memories have molded him, but his self is highly similar to that which existed as a younger man. He is living proof that while people mature and age, and they learn more of the truths of the world, their self and who they are can stay strong and weather these changes.

Inspection at too close a level is often a risky business. When the human body is examined at the cellular level, everything is dying and being replaced continually, but the body as a whole does not show the immediate signs of decomposition that are going on. My Grandfather’s life, when examined over the span of a few crucial minutes can show several different personalities. When his first child was born, he painted the picture of an immensely joyful man who couldn’t set aside his joy, but when his wife died, his heartache is still unbearable to speak of. Looking at these two distinctly different personalities can be misleading, for it is when his life is seen as a whole that a unifying agent can be found. Even something as powerful and random as a tornado is still a powerful tornado when seen from 20 miles away, but imagine examining one cubic inch of space in that tornado that goes through rain then wind then calms then more rain. This small area is constantly changing, but the storm rages on without interference.

Bodies age, the connections in the mind change, people become more knowledgeable, but the self and the individual remain the same, and shall remain until the entire body, and all the cells contained therein, perish.