Full Idea
I do not grant to the metaphysicians that the 'I' is what thinks: on the contrary I take the I itself as a construction thinking, of the same rank as 'material',' thing', 'substance', 'purpose', 'number': therefore only as a regulative fiction.
Gist of Idea
The 'I' does not think; it is a construction of thinking, like other useful abstractions
Source
Friedrich Nietzsche (Unpublished Notebooks 1885-86 [1886], 35[35])
Book Reference
Nietzsche,Friedrich: 'Fragments from 1885-86 (v 16)', ed/tr. Del Caro,Adrian [Stanford 2020], p.94
A Reaction
Ah. I have always defended the Self, the thing that is in charge when the mind is directed to something. I suddenly see that this is compatible with the Self not being the thinker! It is just the willer, and the controller of the searchlight. Self = will?