From: Hal Finney (hal@finney.org)
Date: Fri Jun 27 2003 - 12:29:37 MDT
Harvey writes:
> I have been saying this for a couple of years now. The whole upload/copy
> question is a matter of semantics. People don't disagree on the facts of
> the operation. They disagree on terms and labels. Do we call the two
> results the "same" or "different"? In many ways they are the same. In many
> ways they are different. It depends on the definition of same and
> different. People can't seem to understand this. They believe that only
> their definitions are right and that only their conclusions are right. What
> they don't see is that both sides are correct. Having a dictionary with
> multiple meanings for each word, we find that the results are different(1)
> from each other, while they are not different(2) from each other. There is
> no contradiction or compromise is this conclusion. People end up arguing
> for their definitions and labels. They do not end up talking about
> objective reality or even theoretical reality. As you say, they are talking
> past each other.
I agree with this in part, but not completely.
That is, I agree that fundamentally the issue is a matter of semantics.
There is no actual "right" or "wrong" about whether you are the same
as your upload, or your cryonic revivee. I described the question as
meaningless, because the answer changes depending on what definitions
you use, just as Harvey describes.
However, I disagree that this implies that the debate is pointless.
The fact is, I think that many people disagree that this is just a
semantic argument. They believe that there is truly a fact of the
matter about whether two instances are "the same". They see it as a
matter of fundamental truth whether one consciousness is a continuation
of another, independent of any definitions or semantic arguments.
They may have difficulty in putting the question into words, but they are
convinced that being uploaded or suspended potentially matters and makes
a difference in terms of whether they have survived.
I see the debate as between those who agree with Harvey that it is all
a matter of semantics (and I am one of them), and those who see it as
much more significant, with an underlying, important factual issue about
survival that must be resolved. It seems difficult to convincingly
justify the intuition in either case.
Hal
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