On 2/19/2013 1:58 PM, Jason Resch wrote:
On Tue, Feb 19, 2013 at 3:39 PM, meekerdb <[email protected]
<mailto:[email protected]>> wrote:
On 2/18/2013 10:49 PM, Jason Resch wrote:
6. Swapping places with someone: In 5 seconds, your mind and consciousness
will
swap with that of some rich and famous person. Let's say Bill Gates. I
hope you
are ready. 5. 4. 3. 2. 1. The swap is complete. Bill Gates is now in
your body,
with access to your memories and living as you were just before you got to
reading
this sentence, while you are living as a billionaire and enjoying Bills bank
account. Of course, while you are in his body you only have access to his
memories. Not only does his wife not notice the switch, but you don't even
notice
it. You only have access to Bill's memories now so you do not realize
anything is
awry. Don't worry, everything will be set back how it was, in 3. 2. 1.
Welcome
back. How was it? Of course, you don't remember. Fortunately, Bill was nice
enough
to read the last few sentences for you and now they have been placed into
your
memory. This shows it is meaningless to say "I wish I could live as X", or
"experience a day in Y's shoes". For all you know, you already are, have,
and will.
This, if true, only shows that "you" and "Bill Gates" don't exist apart
from your
bodies and memories, so that it is nonsense to talk of exchanging bodies
and memories.
We agree it is nonsense.
For it to make sense there would have to be a "you" soul and a "Bill
Gates" soul
that switched.
Okay, if no soul involved, then by what means can we talk of you at T1 and you at T2,
when the two are different in terms of memories and material?
There is a problem with any theories of personal identity two individuals at two
different times. Inevitably it comes down to some arbitrary measure of similarity.
There are two alternatives, no-self theories of personal identity, in which you are
nothing but a single observer moment, and universalism, which identifies you with every
conscious entity.
You have been seduced by comp so that you forget the simplest theory - physical
continuity.
Brent
Universalism is a simpler theory that explains more, in that it can answer why you are
experiencing the moment you are in now vs. none at all or some other observer moment.
No-self theories, taken seriously, seem incompatible with the scientific method, as if
you are trapped in a single OM forever, you cannot perform any experiments, or test
predictions.
Jason
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