On 10/27/2012 11:00 AM, Jason Resch wrote:
On Sat, Oct 27, 2012 at 12:27 PM, John Clark <johnkcl...@gmail.com
<mailto:johnkcl...@gmail.com>> wrote:
On Sat, Oct 27, 2012 Bruno Marchal <marc...@ulb.ac.be
<mailto:marc...@ulb.ac.be>>
wrote:
>> your eyes are sending signals to your brain of the White House and
not of
the Kremlin, and there is nothing more profound about it.
> But the eyes of the copy get also the signals from Moscow.
Yes, so the guy in Moscow feels like the guy in Moscow because he's the guy
in
Moscow. Big deal.
> So your explanation does not help to predict what will happen if the
experience is reitired.
True, it can't predict what will happen because what will happen is a
function of
the external environment and how it stimulates the eyes and it has nothing
to do
with the original or either copy. Your entire philosophy is built on top of
the
question "Why is the guy in Washington the guy in Washington?" and the
answer of
course is "because he's the guy in Washington". With such a foundation its
no wonder
it can't do much.
> The correct comp explanation, deep or not, explains why we cannot
make a
better prediction
Then I no longer know what "comp" means because the real reason we can't do
better
is the same reason we can't do better at predicting next weeks weather, its
too
complicated.
Predicting is hard, especially the future.
John,
I am not sure if you are being consistent here. Earlier you said you said you identify
yourself with a stream of thoughts (not a single thought). If you are identified with a
stream of thoughts then you can't simply say one brain is in Moscow and one is in
Washington and that is as deep as it goes, for you must consider the first person
continuum of experience and what they can predict about where their consciousness will
take them.
You agreed if you were instantly halted, taken apart and rebuilt again (even with
different atoms) from your own perspective nothing would have skipped a beat, your
stream of consciousness continues right where it left off. But when you are taken apart
and two copies are created at two locations your stream diverges among two paths, which
gives rise to true unpredictability in the first person perspective.
Physics makes it impossible that you could be instantly halted and restarted at a
different location. Some people conclude that this means neither clone is John Clark, he
has been destroyed. I don't think it makes any difference, since John Clark is presumed
to persist across period of unconsciousness by virtue of consistent memories and competences.
Brent
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