Bodily Sensation and the Self
Abstract
It has been argued (by Ayers, Brewer and Cassam) that in bodily sensation one is
presented both with localised bodily sensations and with one’s own psychological
properties. The argument goes on to conclude from this that in bodily sensation one is
presented with oneself as a bodily self or embodied subject. I consider this argument in
the light of two very different conceptions of bodily sensation and conclude that the
argument fails. I conclude that (far from being a decisive argument for the bodily self
thesis) localised bodily sensation in fact poses a puzzle for the claim.