Thought Experiment #3
If a super-super-duper machine was able to scan the exact physical state of your entire brain and were to recreate your brain exactly as it is in another body would there then be two of “you”? Where would “you” be?
- In the original
- In both but branching from there
- It’s impossible and always will be
- The other would be a soulless zombie
- Something else?
July 31st, 2008 at 11:19 pm
If that happened to me, I’d be beside myself!
:))
August 1st, 2008 at 12:06 am
Arf arf.
August 1st, 2008 at 4:30 pm
Mmm - I’m in two minds about this
August 1st, 2008 at 4:48 pm
You’re getting comic relief as answers Damian!
I think the key term to define here is ‘you’. I think experiences (embodied experiences, to be more specific) are a part of ‘you’, so perhaps (maybe?) the new ‘you’ would remember experiences from the old body - unless the bodies were identical. But if with identical bodies, the two would go on to develop into two different people with two different sets of experiences/choices/etc. Fun stuff to think about!
-d-
August 2nd, 2008 at 11:16 am
Consciousness is so entwined with the brain/body that each body would have its own sense of self. These would develop separately as the interactions withing the brain and between the brain and body developed.
August 2nd, 2008 at 1:32 pm
Ken, how about if the super-super-duper machine was to make an exact copy of your whole body instead of just your brain then?
And if consciousness is entwined with the body does losing a toe subtract from a person’s consciousness?
August 3rd, 2008 at 1:31 pm
With an exact copy of the body - the 2 “selves” would feel similar but still be separate - and separate more and more with time. They may start with the same memories but the brain/body is dynamic and continually influencing and changing the consciousness..
Losing one’s toe - no, it’s not a matter of subtraction. But it would influence ones consciousness (as well as ones’ body).
August 7th, 2008 at 11:00 pm
So if it had the same brain and body, wouldn’t that be a clone? We know that clones diverge. So we’d expect that to apply to humans as well.