Re: The self is not physical, but symbolic
Well, I think it is a bit of both. A car is a material object, but in our mind physical effects create the things we name thoughts, ideas, symbols. As such the idea/thought/notion of a car is different than the inanimate object. And to stretch it even further, this 'idea' may stretch beyond the physical use/abilities of a car (a thing of beauty, a status symbol, a piece of machinery, a toy etc.)
Kant's expression 'das ding an sich' reflects upon this 'translation' of something animate into the 'mind'.
An easy analogy is that a painting of a train is not a train, but it still symbolizes it.
I don't think you have to go overboard with it, because our brains also follow the properties of the physics in our universe, etc.
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