Does a "True Self" Exist?

[Salacious B. Crumb]

I may be responding to robvalue and bennyboy here, but, if we consider ourselves only as particles, or just specifically, DNA, then there is no longer a self, because there is no consciousness (going by the definition of self, that includes being a human). Although, after reading some material on quantum mechanics, there seems to be at least some sort of consciousness, or maybe better worded as, an ‘environmental reflex’ with particles that don’t actually seem to have the capabilities of awareness, at least, not at our capacity. In my opinion, our genetics, don’t necessarily make up who we are (they do, and they don’t). They make up everything physical about us on a ‘macro’ scale, but not what we truly become, when exposed to our world. I believe that we are a slave to our DNA in a way, because our DNA, at least partially, predisposes us to how we will view the world, but I don't feel that, this alone, will make us who we truly are. I like the way Cato worded his response, and I’d have to agree that I am the same self as I was at 5 years of age, but we can change when we come in contact with new stimuli in our own reality.