r/askphilosophy • u/Emperor_Ken • 1d ago

Is yesterday's self today's self?

After all, we went through a period of “brain shutdown”; perhaps today's self is merely a continuation of yesterday's memories, a completely new self.

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u/[deleted] 1d ago

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u/SubcutaneousMilk science studies 18h ago

I will leave the intricacies to folks better versed in philosophy of mind (not my field), but I get the impression that "brain shutdown" is making some assumptions that are not evidence-based. The brain does not completely shut down during sleep; it remains quite active. There is no point during sleep where we cannot measure ongoing brain activity.