Descartes was wrong: ‘a person is a person through other persons’

“Nothing simply is itself, outside the matrix of relationships in which it appears. Instead, being is an act or event that must happen in the space between the self and the world.” Abeba Birhane does not simply regard human beings as either self-contained or self-sufficient. But can relational and autonomous accounts of the self be reconciled?

aeon.co

With thanks to @chinicuil.

The big idea: why relationships are the key to existence

“Too often we foolishly measure success in terms of a single actor’s fortunes. This is both short-sighted and irrational. It misunderstands the true nature of reality, and is ultimately self-defeating.” Carlo Rovelli provides a compelling explanation of the ways in which interactions shape our world and, in the end, determine our reality.

www.theguardian.com

Click to copy