I have a very mechanistic view of this. Inside a body is an army of cpus just constantly running programs to create or repair components of the body. At a certa

I have a very mechanistic view of this. Inside a body is an army of cpus just constantly running programs to create or repair components of the body. At a certain level, the cpus and programs look the same, because they are both realized by complex molecular chains and collections. When an ova is fertilized, the mother's cpus get to work on the program (DNA) soon creating an embryo. This is aided by cpus in the embryo DNA too. This process requires a lot of energy. After some period of time the embryos brain is sufficiently developed and has sufficient input channels to develop sensory awareness and some self awareness. But self awareness is not fully formed until sometime after birth. All notions of "self" come from the workings of the brain. This too requires a lot of energy. When the brain is no longer supplied with energy, it shuts down and "self" no longer exists.