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Originally Posted by zen_tom
It may be an illusion, and unfortunately it is one I've grown rather attached to. Coming to terms with this fact is notoriously difficult, and one that many people devote their entire lives to. I assume that you are stating the idea as a rationally held belief rather than as something that you both fully and deeply accept as an individual, but if this is not the case, then I am both envious and deeply interested in how you managed it. I've had *moments* when I've felt like I've almost grasped this truth, but could never hold onto the realisation for long.
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I understand what you are getting at, and I accept that I live my day to day life in thrall of this illusion. I don't see this as a negative thing. The "benign user illusion" (Dan Dennett's term) is a very powerful device which we have evolved, and life would be VERY confusing without it, (probably to the point of being unlivable).
But this doesn't change the fact that as the self is an illusion which superviences on the physical, a transformation which keeps the "physical facts" constant will also keep the user illusion constant, and hence "I" have nothing to worry about when it comes to this machine.
In short I would be mistaken to think, walking out of the teleporter that I would have suceeded in transporting a mystical self over a distance, but I would be equally mistaken had I just drove there instead.