John K. Clark wrote,
>Words mean things. We need to throw out words that refer to false
>notions such as phlogiston, vitalism, and consciousness. It's not
>just a question of semantic convenience. If a word is wrong, get rid
>of it. What you save via uploading is the information stored in your
>brain and body.
No wonder you have a different view of immortality than I do! Are
you saying that you disagree that consciousness even exists? If that
is the case, you certainly not only fail to preserve consciousness in
your copy methods, you have deliberately left it out of consideration.
My dictionary defines consciousness as:
1. The state or condition of being conscious.
It defines being conscious as:
1.a. Having an awareness of one's environment and one's own
existence, sensations, and thoughts. See Synonyms at aware. b.
Mentally perceptive or alert; awake: The patient remained fully
conscious after the local anesthetic was administered.
2. Capable of thought, will, or perception: The development of
conscious life on the planet.
3. Subjectively known or felt: conscious remorse.
4. Intentionally conceived or done; deliberate: a conscious insult;
made a conscious effort to speak more clearly.
5. Inwardly attentive or sensible; mindful: was increasingly
conscious of being stared at on the street.
6. Especially aware of or preoccupied with. Often used in
combination: a cost-conscious approach to further development; a
health-conscious diet.
Do you dispute that humans have any or all of these traits? Do you
disregard the need for any or all of these states to be preserved in
future iterations of yourself?
-- Harvey Newstrom <HarveyNewstrom.com>
This archive was generated by hypermail 2b30 : Mon May 28 2001 - 09:50:35 MDT