I asked ChatGPT for definitions of Self, and this is what I got: – The self as the sum of all memories. – The self as a narrative we tell ourselves. – The self

I asked ChatGPT for definitions of Self, and this is what I got: – The self as the sum of all memories. – The self as a narrative we tell ourselves. – The self as the brain’s model of its own body and mind. – The self as the sense of being a single, continuous subject. – The self as an emergent process of experience. Within any one of these definitions, how does it make sense to speak of the self as an "illusion", or of a "false self"? I mean, the definition constructs and instantiates the self, so the moment you define it, it exists? Isn't it like saying "the set consisting of the numbers 1,2,3 is an illusion"? The moment I "create" the set, it exists? And what's with this "not my thoughts" business? They're mine as much as it is only me that receives them, and nobody can take them away from me. Like a radio that only I can hear and carry around with me is mine?