Convenient oversimplifications

It is inevitable that we must simplify, and therefore always to some extent falsify, the bewildering complexity of the human condition. But we must be wary of going further than necessary. The idea of a unitary “soul” or “subject” simplifies our view of the mind, but only at the cost of entirely falsifying it. The notion that the self is unitary is a useful from of self-deception for those who would like to conceal from themselves the chaotic disorganization of their own minds. Something that is by definition unitary does not need to be made into a unit. Integrity is achieved by definition.