Consequences of thinking nobody is like one's self [closed]

Question

I was wondering if anyone has pondered what the consequences might be of thinking that nobody is like one's self?

Thanks.

Answer 1

What does 'like' mean though.

Intersubjectivity is the basis of communication that uses abstractions. See According to the major theories of concepts, where do meanings come from?

But we each have a fundamentally unique life-path, as expressed by The Law Of Identity - if we didn't we wouldn't be distinguishable. Qualia can be interpreted different ways, but seems to posit something unique added by the perspective of an individuals life-path including sensoriam.

But Buddhist thought seems to say there is something deeply universal and interchangeable about unconditioned awareness itself. See Indra's Net.

A proverb says "Shared joy is a double joy; shared sorrow is half a sorrow", and feeling understood which relates to understanding how we are alike is really important in mental health. See for example On Feeling Understood and Feeling Well: The Role of Interdependence.

Intersubjectivity, accepting a certain universality to human subjectivity that we call personhood, seems to be deeply related to how we do moral reasoning. See How would you apply John Rawls "Theory of justice" to everyday decisions? Failure to do this, we link to narcissism psycopathy and solipsism, which we relate to dysfunctions.

Tolstoy made a quip related to this:

"All happy families are alike; each unhappy family is unhappy in its own way." -Anna Karenina

That is, something about obsessing over the uniqueness of a situation, exactly relates to it being linked to suffering. In finding parallels, we find ways to share how to live well.

There is a proverb and song lyric that goes "There but for fortune go you or I", and by reflecting on it we can consider how we are the sum of our causes and conditions, we are not different by any unchangeable essence.