Is There A Real You?

[Confused Ape]

Julian believes that the sense of self emerges in us without any essential or permanent self actually existing. So the sense of the self is just an idea, an idea which is created in us by the summation of our countless thoughts, emotions, desires, intentions, memories, etc. Although I don't agree with this view (since I believe in the existence of "souls" which are thought to be something permanent), I've been pondering on this. Where does my sense of self come from exactly?

1: What is a soul? Is it the same as the sense of self which Julian Baggini is talking about?

2: Do Muslims never change throughout their lives? For example, would you say you're exactly the same as you were when you were two years old?

3: If souls exist, how do they operate in the physical world? What if souls create a sense of self because of how the human brain works? I don't believe in souls but I've sometimes wondered how my soul would operate in the physical world if I had one.