What are we?

It has been a while since I blogged so I might as well jump into a subject that has taken up a few of my mental cycles over the past year or so.  What part of you is you, exactly?

I'm not going to try and dig into this question using any psychiatry or psychology because frankly, those fields are a bit too open to interpretation for my taste.  Instead I will try to present this from a more mechanical point of view, which is the way I usually prefer to assess this kind of subject matter.

First, what are we physically?  We are human beings.  Homo sapiens.  We are unique in many ways in the animal kingdom.  We are also, arguably, the dominant species on the planet.  We mostly consist of water, and we are carbon-based in terms of molecular structure.  We have a fairly complex system of organs, bones, and muscles that keep us mobile and fueled up with energy.  We are far more advanced than anything that modern science can come close to in an artificial being. 

We are also the hosts to all kinds of bacteria and other microorganisms that call our bodies home.  Supposedly, our body mass contains more non-human life than human cells.  We are our own eco-systems for microscopic life.  We are seldom, if ever, aware of this though. 

So now let's look at our mental awareness.  For me, self-awareness seems to originate somewhere between my eyes and my brain and of course extends out, to a more limited degree to my furthest extremities, my toes.  I believe, like other humans, I am not aware of most things happening within my body such as my internal digestive system, my cardio-vascular system, my immune system, or my regenerative/healing systems.  Of course I am aware that they exist but otherwise seem to have no control over what they do or how they do it. 

If I have no control over these things, then exactly what part of me (my body) am I?  I can control motor functions such as walking, grabbing things, speaking, eating, etc, but there seems to be so much of me that I have no control over.  Even when I seem to be completely unconscious and unaware, like during sleep, my body goes on without me.

One thing I have noticed about my own awareness of myself is that it often has nothing to do with my physical body but instead is more of an abstraction of my mind and body in various imagined situations.  For example, rather than only being aware of whatever I happen to be and what I am doing, I am constantly projecting my abstract self into imagined plans for later such as my plans this weekend to work on my bathroom remodel.  I imagine my abstract self doing the work and going to Lowes to buy supplies and so on.  Similarly, when preparing to go in front of an audience to give a presentation, I can both imagine myself succeeding wonderfully which gives me a good feeling, and also failing miserably which instills fear and uncertainty.  So although my actual physical self has not done either of these things, I can experience feelings as if it had.

So my question remains: What exactly are we?  Are we the whole of our physcal self, another organism in the vast cosmic ecosystem, just trying to survive?  Or are we something else, some separate consciousness, along for the ride in this physical vehicle, only partly aware of the physical and more adept at operating in the metaphysical world of our own imagination?

Until next time...  

David