There is a unique boundary between our experiences. We know enough to know that we don’t know enough. The boundaries of our experiences might be porous and artificial.
The self exists. But not in the way we think it exists. Yes the contents of my mind changes, but the container does not.
The metaphysics of matter is different from the metaphysics of mind
I am a perspective of awareness that is constant
Or is the self snapshots? If the I are snapshots and they are relational, then it makes sense that the I is collective.
Is the mind the same as the self?
The person that is able to act is an aggregate of matter. If I am only a mind, a soul, then it is possible to think but not to act. Action involves the mind “intra-acting” with the body.
Does the self have an essence or is it a relationship?
The self is not the mind only. While the mind could be essential, the self isn’t. The self is ever-changing.
Then there is that statement: nothing is truly independent.
The mind cannot exist without a body. Self cannot exist without both mind and body.
Something could be metaphysically exclusive but will not exist without the others.
Self as a river
The river is a concept that is defined by constant change. Me, you, us, the entire universe is a river. We are not entities but relationships, larger categories that bind small parts.
The self is not the container but the container as well as the contained. The self is the constantly changing relationship between body, mind, and whatever connects the two at any given moment. The self is a universe in itself.
If the self exists as a relationship then it has to be an abstraction. If so, the self may exist but will not be absolutely understandable. What is understandable, though, are one’s subjective experiences and body. A knowledge of these is useful.