Re: Identity

John Clark (jonkc@worldnet.att.net)
Mon, 23 Nov 1998 11:20:30 -0500

-----BEGIN PGP SIGNED MESSAGE-----
Hash: SHA1

Randall Randall <wolfkin@phonetech.com> Wrote:

>>Me:
>> things are made of atoms and atoms have no individuality, if they can't even
>> give this interesting property to themselves how can they give it to me?

><daniel.fabulich@yale.edu> wrote
>In the same way that they can give greenness, or consciousness,
>though atoms have neither property themselves.

if the atoms in a blade of grass are are organized in the same way then both are green but there is only one green . If another bunch of atoms were organized in a Johnclarkish way it would be John Clark but there is only one John Clark.

>> If I have two printers printing out the same novel and I smash one is the book
>> destroyed ?

>Well, the one you stopped certainly is.

I don't care because nothing irreplaceable has been destroyed.

>>Me:
>> If I have two phonographs playing the same symphony and I smash
>> one machine what happens to the music?

>There certainly is *less* music than before

I don't care because nothing irreplaceable has been destroyed.

I never said destroying an exact copy of my brain would not make the make the slightest difference to anything, I only said that there is no logical reason to think it could make any difference to me, or even that I could tell that it happened.

John K Clark jonkc@att.net

-----BEGIN PGP SIGNATURE-----
Version: PGP for Personal Privacy 5.5.5

iQA/AwUBNlmLTt+WG5eri0QzEQKwzACeOzkT975jn4VWEefZPqTLkHFQ3X8AnRib c6Rm6rOEJDbXaxqeqxGvGPEF
=maM5
-----END PGP SIGNATURE-----