Tilted Forum Project Discussion Community - View Single Post - The continuity of consciousness: An illusion?

Kyo · 09-17-2003, 03:15 PM

It's difficult to really piece together all of my thoughts, since I have just read this thread now and am itching to respond before I forget everything. So, you will have to forgive me if my statements seem disjointed.

Your concept of immortality isn't immortality at all - entropy wins eventually. Whatever you use as the container for your 'self' will, at some far-off and unknown time, disintegrate into its constituent subatomic particles and/or energy.

Regardless, it brings up an interesting problem - which of you is really you? If you could pattern the mind exactly, what would determine which is the original? If all we truly are is some matrix of physical and chemical processes and structures in our minds, a perfect copy should be ourselves, exactly. Going further with this eventually leads us down into the bottomless pit that is the argument for/against a soul, so I'm going to stop here.

Something to note, however, is that at the very moment of 'download,' or transfer, if you will, the two beings begin to diverge - they are instantly different upon the moment of creation. And another thought - would the method of download make a difference? Consider two different methods: 1) actual physical transfer and then replacement (ie, actually moving the brain one particle(?) at a time and then recreating the original), or 2) True replication (the original remains untouched). Would the result be different? Assume that both the original and the copy are completely and utterly unconcious during the process. Both would think they are the original, yes, that much is obvious. But would the original actually know which one he was?

We've also discovered why the existence of a soul, like many religious concepts, is such a convenient theory.

09-17-2003, 03:15 PM	#18 (permalink)
Kyo Crazy	It's difficult to really piece together all of my thoughts, since I have just read this thread now and am itching to respond before I forget everything. So, you will have to forgive me if my statements seem disjointed. Your concept of immortality isn't immortality at all - entropy wins eventually. Whatever you use as the container for your 'self' will, at some far-off and unknown time, disintegrate into its constituent subatomic particles and/or energy. Regardless, it brings up an interesting problem - which of you is really you? If you could pattern the mind exactly, what would determine which is the original? If all we truly are is some matrix of physical and chemical processes and structures in our minds, a perfect copy should be ourselves, exactly. Going further with this eventually leads us down into the bottomless pit that is the argument for/against a soul, so I'm going to stop here. Something to note, however, is that at the very moment of 'download,' or transfer, if you will, the two beings begin to diverge - they are instantly different upon the moment of creation. And another thought - would the method of download make a difference? Consider two different methods: 1) actual physical transfer and then replacement (ie, actually moving the brain one particle(?) at a time and then recreating the original), or 2) True replication (the original remains untouched). Would the result be different? Assume that both the original and the copy are completely and utterly unconcious during the process. Both would think they are the original, yes, that much is obvious. But would the original actually know which one he was? We've also discovered why the existence of a soul, like many religious concepts, is such a convenient theory. __________________ Sure I have a heart; it's floating in a jar in my closet, along with my tonsils, my appendix, and all of the other useless organs I ripped out.