Unit: The Cartesian Self and Buddhist Alternatives
Descartes provides a classic example of a individual, substantialist conception of the self, and Buddhists deny precisely such a view. Consequently, they present intriguing alternatives for students. Theravada Buddhist argue that there is no self, but that it is conventionally useful to talk as if there are selves. Mahayana Buddhists frequently argue that there is no completely individual self, but there is a transpersonal self that we are all manifestations of.