Quote:What is it, outside of atoms & cells, that somehow maintains our identity.
Quote:Memory. It is the intangible thread which transcends the exchange of atoms and the discharge of neurons. Our ability to remember what we thought we were, makes us what we are.
As one who doesn't believe in any sort of soul that is distinct from the corporal body, I'd say it is precisely the arrangement of cells (and their constituent parts) that
is who we are. Memories, personality, inclinations, hopes, fears -- everything is stored in that arrangement. It must be, if there is nothing else. (Which begs the question that there is nothing else, of course.)
It occurs to me that this question can be asked and answered from two different points of view. I can say what makes me
me from my point of view, or I can say what makes you
you -- and they aren't necessarily the same answers. I only know a person through their behavior, their speech, and the apparent continuity of their voice and body, which I can recognize through my own memories. Which I suppose leads to a discussion of the social construction of the self, which is a whole other bag of candy...
Of course, a flippant immunologist might define you as the negative space carved out by everything your immune system recognizes and attacks.