A border exists where the self becomes all else, upon which a self-governing autonomy terminates its finiteness and an altogether independent object or being takes over that matter. But what makes anything itself, and everything something else? Is the edge of self where the biological macro organism that the flesh believes itself to be?

If that’s true, what of the parts of oneself that aren’t strictly you, by that definition - what of the trillions of microorganisms in the confines and exterior of the flesh that are still relied upon for ‘autonomy’. Are the bacteria, viruses and fungi functioning independently in counts of billions part of the body, or are they enslaved to the system?

Are mere chemicals the stomach uses to dissolve matter part of the self? Is the matter consumed part of you during this, after this, or was it always connected? Is the flesh, tendon, bone, organs or blood part of you?

The body may wield that which is not it, but in a symbiotic relationship relies on it by some measure, and it relies entirely on the host, but one would not remove a small measure of streptococci bacteria and claim it is part of ones self, or perhaps even a finger nail would go with little complaint for, as much as it was once part of the being, it replenishes itself and will soon matter little that it has found itself alone in the world, not even bearing thought of the host that produced it. Yet if a finger was lost, that would seem far more tangible, irreplaceable, and memorable - even going so far as to still exist in phantom sensation, despite its lack of attachment.

But is any of your flesh part of you, or an extension plugged into by the part of the body that controls things? The brain is arguably the most independent and core idea of self, after all, it could theoretically be removed from the body, placed in another or machine, and your thoughts could still be allowed to run and think and remember all your experiences. Would the husk of your body be just that, or would it still be you?

Going in the opposite direction, if one may take a more vague idea of self and regard it as merely what is currently part of the being, are tools in the hand, clothes draping on the shoulders, fillings in the teeth, stitches in the skin or titanium bones in the body any more or less you than you?

The problem to this question is the very premise itself. The idea of self is to believe in individuality, autonomy and control over matter that was not created for you, not intended for you, but adopted by a forgettable blip in a story of eons where, for a brief moment, a big enough collection of atoms assembled into a large enough mass that the chemicals formed cells formed systems formed a macro being that could illusion itself into thinking it matters to any degree whatsoever.

If the universe were to be split into two identical versions of itself, right now, with everything in its exact same place and state, would you believe yourself to have any different path from that point on? Every other atom placed exactly where it was, moving where it was, with as much energy as it had - what would make you think any different from one version of yourself to the other? Similarly, if the universe were wound back to 10,000 years ago, or 10,000,000,000 years ago, and set in motion again, we would end up exactly where we are now, for no change is introduced to alter the course of what was set in motion at the very beginning of it all.

This is to say that, in absolute terms, every action you ever believe to have thought, ignored or carried out, has been a pre-determined path set out before biological life on Earth, the Earth itself, or physical matter had even begun to form anything from the very starting point of the universe. Any attempt to prove your actions are your own is futile, for you cannot deviate from the reality of fundamental rules in the universe.

Oh, but what of quantum variations? Assuming there is some sort of ‘noise’ playing that alters the universe in unpredictable ways - such as our split universe hypothesis resulting in two different outcomes, further separating from each other as more time passes, as the consequences of minor atomic directional shifts or energy outputs ripple into substantial and tangible effects in the universe, surely this means everything isn’t pre-determined? Perhaps, but what does it mean - that your decision to lift your arm and drink a glass of water may not have happened in two alternate universes, because some quantum spark flashed into the fabric of reality in your brain and altered an electronic pulse? Congratulations! Your existence is determined now, not by an exact path set out at the beginning of the universe, but by the pure chance of a noise that we dare to believe is random. Given we only have one timeline, it makes little difference whether or not it is real - ultimately, you do not have autonomy over anything that you believe to be yourself.

So what difference is there between what you believe yourself to be, versus anything else around you? If moving your legs forwards to walk is merely following a path already made for you, or one of pure chance by some woo woo concept of random noise creating random chance, that means you do not exist and, by consequence, nothing around you exists any more or less than you do, nor is any less you than your hands or brain or the pulses running around within it carrying impulses from one chemical reaction to send a pulse to another area to carry out its own chemical reaction.

You are just as much me as I am, as is every atom within this universe, for all we are are the puppets following the story we were set out to do.

I do not exist. I am not alive. I cannot die.