At first glance, Robert Thunnan's claim that we have no permanent or essential self may seem like sheer nonsense, since, clearly, each of us is a self or has one. But does "the self," as we call it,...

At first glance, Robert Thunnan's claim that we have no permanent or essential self may seem like sheer nonsense, since, clearly, each of us is a self or has one. But does "the self," as we call it, actually represent a selforganizing system., more like an ant colony than a sing.le ant, or more ljke a city than a single neighborhood? As you work through this question, you should move beyond the t\.vo texts to consider your own experience. Are you always the same person from one moment to the next? To what degree is your identity at any particular time shaped by your interactions with others? Can you accurately predict what you will be like ten years from now? Ten months? Ten days?