Final answer:
The Five Aggregates are a Buddhist concept describing how the self interacts with the world, emphasizing the ever-changing and interdependent nature of existence.
Step-by-step explanation:
The aggregates of form, feelings, perceptions, mental formations, and consciousness are concepts from Buddhist philosophy that describe how the self (atman) experiences the world and moves toward liberation. These Five Aggregates (skandhas) are thought processes through which individuals interact with their environment:
Form (rupa): Refers to the physical body and the material world.
Sensation (vedana): Constitutes both emotional and physical sensations or feelings.
Perception (samjna): The cognitive aspect, where sense data is processed and organized into coherent thoughts.
Mental Formation (samskara): Concerns the mental habits and patterns that arise from thoughts and directly influence actions and reactions, also closely related to karma.
Consciousness: The awareness of the preceding four aggregates and the overall conscious experience.
In contrast to some secular notions of self, which may define identity purely in physical or psychological terms, Buddhist philosophy sees the self as an ever-changing, interdependent collection of processes, rather than a permanent, unchanging substance.