I’ve been reading about the teachings of the spiritual leader G. I. Gurdijeff.
One of Gurdijeff’s fundamental ideas is that of man as a machine, and a corresponding absence of unity in man. In this idea man doesn’t (and cannot) ‘do’ anything, rather things just happen based on external influences (machine like), without a will. Because of this, the ‘I’ changes rapidly depending on current external influences, leading to inconsistencies or ideas, broken promises, projects started but never completed, etc. The belief of most that there is a single (fairly) consistent ‘I’ is a myth.
However Gurdijeff also states that it’s possible, with sufficient and desire and sacrifice, to free oneself from this state – and a permanent and unchanging ‘I’ can be achieved with
So, the topic is to discuss the questions: Does man have an (even partially) consistent ‘I’? Do people change as rapidly as Gurdijeff supposes? Is it possible to achieve a permanent and unchanging ‘I’ if one doesn’t exist (or bring it to the surface if it is suppressed)?
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