Re: This is just a copy

Randall R Randall (rrandall6@juno.com)
Mon, 6 Jul 1998 21:43:03 -0400

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On Mon, 6 Jul 1998 20:38:28 -0400 (EDT) Daniel Fabulich <daniel.fabulich@yale.edu> writes:
>On Mon, 6 Jul 1998, Randall R Randall wrote:

>> like. This triangle is *similar* to the original, but since
>> we can see the original beside it, it is clear that they
>> are not the same triangle. They differ only in location,
>> but they do differ.
>
>No, no no! That triangle is more than just similar; it is CONGRUENT.

Whoops. My mistake. :(

>An important distinction, since similar triangles may differ greatly in
size.
>Also important because I think it would not be at all unreasonable to
say
>that two congruent triangles are two identical instances of the same
>triangle; think object-oriented if you will.

Yes, and that is what I would disagree with. I know that it is not usually useful to consider two instances of an "object" as two separate objects, but it seems to me that they most certainly are. We can only assume that they are the same object because they perform in the same way, on the level we care about.

>Again, without some theory like this, you can never have two of ANYTHING
>which are the same; the word "same" is utterly meaningless in this
>context. On some level, this argument is saying that no two of anything
>are the same, so clearly no two CDs are the same, no two instances of a
>consciousness are the same, no two triangles are the same...

Right, except for certain purposes (which is usually all that matters).

>> BTW, what if it becomes possible to copy all
>> of a person's memories and insert them in
>> other people? Does this mean that the person
>> who created the memories is effectively
>> immortal? Can he shoot himself without dying?
>>
>
>I think yes.

Since he has stopped having
thoughts indefinitely, how does
his plight differ from the same
stopping of existence without
copies? *He* is still quite dead.

>> Aw, shucks. :)
>> BTW, this is an excellent reason (IMO, of course)
>> to disapprove of "intellectual property", which I do,
>> for the same reasons that I want *this* copy of me
>> to survive.
>
>After arguing this point for a month, I don't want to hear about this
>again for at LEAST another six. ;)

Uh oh. Sorry about that last post, then, Daniel. :)

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