I enjoy my body, but am happy to see it replaced by a virtual one in the
future. I don't so much see a mind/body dualism as a practical range of
importance.
My little finger is important to me, but I don't think it plays a very
important role in making up who I am. My arm is more important to me, but I
could lose it and still consider myself unchanged. I could swap my whole
body for an virtual one and I don't believe it would impact my sense of
self much. The brain requires a certain amount of input to avoid sensory
deprivation but I doubt that is a great problem. I am sure such sensory
feeds could be managed inside any computer capable of simulating a human brain.
I already spend significant amounts of time "inside" virtual worlds where
my sense of self is actually in those worlds. For those among you who doubt
this, remember the last time you watched a movie and were totally sucked
into that world with your real body forgotten, motionless in a chair?
The body is important, yes... but not as important as the mind. Without my
mind I am nothing. I like my body, but the time will come when I need to
say goodbye to it in order to survive... I am OK with that... in fact it
could be an interesting adventure.
Best wishes,
- Miriam
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Q. What is the similarity between an elephant and a grape?
A. They are both purple... except for the elephant.
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http://werple.net.au/~miriam
http://members.optushome.com.au/miriame
Virtual Reality Association http://www.vr.org.au
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