From: James R. Andrix <andrix@paradox.net>
>I think the point was that even if it's a different BRAIN, it's the same
>_consciousness_. (unless they're both running at the same time in which
>case they diverge.)
Bingo!
>For instance, if I have a Foo web server that serves the foo pages, I can
>stop it, transfer all the files to a new system, and restart them there,
>and the foo pages never died. (and we all know consciousness isn't any more
>complex than serving web pages ;-)
The complexity of consciousness doesn't enter into it. Whether the identity concerns something discrete, such as a water molecule (H2O), or something aggregate, such as the oceans of the Earth, water still equals water, and only one water exists. Correspondingly, only one consciousness exists.
>The point is that the actual _physical hardware_ your running on doesn't
>matter (IMO) It's that A)it's capable of being a brain and B) it's running
>your data/code.
>
>quality of dialog? I was waiting to learn division!
Wait no longer. One might divide the world's oceans into however many categories or containers or thought experiments one may wish. Only when one divides a single water molecule, does it become something else. When you divide salt water into pure water and the chemicals dissolved in it, the pure water exactly equals pure water obtained by dividing it from any other kind of impurity, such as sugar water, muddy water, heavy water, soda water, bloody water, ad infinitum. Likewise, pure consciousness always remains the same, varying only according to attributes it acquires by its contents. The volume of consciousness depends on the volume of that which it contains or reflects. Cosmic consciousness contains a perfect reflection of all existence. In consequence of this, the cosmic consciousness of Buddha exactly corresponds to the cosmic consciousness of Krishna, Lao Tzu, Kabir, or any other enlightened brain. This, btw, explains the eternally recurring incarnation of Buddha consciousness known as reincarnation. Others may prefer to call it The Copy Question.