Stathis Papaioannou wrote:
On Sunday, December 21, 2014, Bruce Kellett <[email protected]>
wrote:
John Clark wrote:
Somebody said that they didn't want to sign up for Cryonics
because they were worried about ending up as a brain in a vat,
and in any case they believed in Everett's Many Worlds so it is
unnecessary. Well, if Everett is correct then you've already
signed up for Cryonics in some universe and you are going to end
up as a brain in a vat regardless, so that eliminates that
objection for taking action now in this universe. So if there
is no reason (other than economics) for not doing it is there
any positive reason for actually doing it? I believe there is.
Consider the possibility that Everett is not correct, or at
least not 100% correct in the way you think, then Cryonics could
literally be the difference between life and death, between
consciousness and oblivion. In my opinion Many Worlds is the
best interpretation of Quantum Mechanics that has so far been
found, but I'm not willing to bet my life that a even better one
won't be found someday.
John K Clark
What's wrong with oblivion?
Most legal systems punish murder more than any other crime, and those
that have the death penalty reserve it for the worst offenders. Most
criminals know that if they threaten a person with death they are more
likely to comply than with other threats. Most religions, in the absence
of any evidence, promise an afterlife. I think this all supports the
fact that it is a common human trait to fear oblivion, even if as John
says it's just a matter of taste.
Stathis Papaioannou
It might be a common human trait to fear oblivion, but it is even more
irrational than belief in an afterlife.
Bruce
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