Jesse Mazer wrote: >Suppose there had already been a copy made, and the two of you >were sitting side-by-side, with the torturer giving you the >following options: > >A. He will flip a coin, and one of you two will get tortured >B. He points to you and says "I'm definitely going to torture >the guy sitting there, but while I'm sharpening my knives he >can press a button that makes additional copies of him as many >times as he can." > >Would this change your decision in any way? What if you are >the copy in this scenario, with a clear memory of having been >the "original" earlier but then pressing a button and finding >yourself suddenly standing in the copying chamber--would that >make you more likely to choose B?
That would be a more difficult decision. At this point, having experienced escaping the torture, I might be more inclined to change my mind. That would certainly be intellectually inconcistent, but psychologically understandable. But I still think I'd cboose (A). Jonathan Colvin
