Re: Can I kill the original?

From: John Clark (jonkc@worldnet.att.net)
Date: Thu May 04 2000 - 22:27:51 MDT


Harvey Newstrom <mail@HarveyNewstrom.com> Wrote:

> What is death?

Having a last thought. The original can think my thoughts just as well as me the copy,
so as long as the original lives there is no last thought.

In almost all of the sort of thought experiments we see on this list we are invited
to assume the part of the original and asked what our disposition toward the copy
should be. Why is that? You could just as easily take the role of the copy, made
one hour ago complete with memories of when you were a child. So now, what are
you going to do about the original?

>To me, what I am avoiding is loss of control.

That sounds like free will and that does not compute. There are only two possibilities,
everything you do is because of cause and effect and you're a machine, or it does
not and you're random. Either way you don't control anything, but it doesn't matter
because you feel like you do.

      John K Clark jonkc@att.net



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