For the whole of human history, one fortress has remained inviolate: the self. The human mind, encased in the skull, was an isolated kingdom. Its inner workings, our thoughts, emotions, and core identity, were accessible only to ourselves or, in a metaphysical sense, to a divine. This isolation was a foundational premise of our personhood. Our "mental activity, " our most intimate part, was fundamentally private.
For the whole of human history, one fortress has remained inviolate: the self. The human mind, encased in the skull, was an isolated kingdom. Its inner workings, our thoughts, emotions, and core identity, were accessible only to ourselves or, in a metaphysical sense, to a divine. This isolation was a foundational premise of our personhood. Our "mental activity, " our most intimate part, was fundamentally private.