Do you agree? My answer is 'yes and no'. At its barest, the statement is just 'people lie.' And that's true. But can you not lie in action as well as in words? Some argue that doesn't matter, that motives are irrelevant, only actions count. Motives are internal, they do not affect the outside world, but actions do. It's a very pragmatic view. It's also very self-centered.
Think about your own existence. Your experiences, your feelings, your thoughts, your opinions. Do you define these as part of you? I believe identity is ultimately subjective, so if you do not then we may have a very different argument on our hands that I will discuss in a later post. But I think most people would say, 'yes, that is a part of me.' So who are we to deny that to others because such things do not impact our world?
And they do impact our world, albeit indirectly. It could be argued that they're irrelevant, as they are only catalysts to action. Thus, we could remove them from the equation and only look at action - the sum and result of all these motives, feelings etc. But not all of these parts of 'you' always manifest in action. We are frequently contradictory in mind, but our actions can only take one course. If you believe in any degree of determinism, it is this mental 'you', and the rest of your biology's interaction with the outside world that determines action. Those thoughts and feelings of that do not noticeably influence our actions are not any less real to us for it. Why should they be less real for anyone else?
That's certainly a more complicated picture. But I suppose, 'you are the sum of your thoughts, feelings, and biology, as influenced by your environment, manifested by your actions, and determined subjectively' just doesn't have the same ring to it.
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