Re: Immortality

From: John Clark (jonkc@worldnet.att.net)
Date: Mon Dec 11 2000 - 22:17:55 MST


 Emlyn <emlyn@one.net.au> Wrote:

> I agree, absolutely. The bio-brain that you reassembled is a copy

But the "copy" has all the original neurons all in place exactly as they were before.

>The artificial brain, however, includes the original stream of consciousness

Thought experiment time. I make a copy of you and of course both insist they
are you. I take one particular neuron in the brain of "The Original" and "The Copy"
and swap them, both still insist they are you and in fact report absolutely no
difference. Two questions:

1) I do this 50 billion time so that half the brains have been transplanted, both
    still insist they are you, but which one is "REALLY" you?

2)I do this 50 billion times more so that the both brains have been entirely
   transplanted, both still report no change in their subjective experience,
   not even a little. Both can still remember being you before all this started too.
   Which one is "REALLY" you?

I'll bet you can guess my answer to these questions, but I'd like to hear yours.

            John K Clark jonkc@att.net



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