Here’s what I think: Each of us is born with a series of built-in confusions that are probably somehow Darwinian. These are: (1) we’re central to the universe (that is, our personal story is the main and most interesting story, the only story, really); (2) we’re separate from the universe (there’s us and then, out there, all that other junk—dogs and swing sets and the state of Nebraska and low-hanging clouds and, you know, other people); and (3) we’re permanent (death is real, okay, sure—for you, but not for me).
