From: Lee Daniel Crocker (lee@piclab.com)
Date: Mon Dec 03 2001 - 16:09:34 MST
> The range of views among transhumanists on the issue of personal identity
> is wide, yet we cluster more tightly than the general population. ...
A reasonable taxonomy, but what about those of us who specifically
reject that "identity" is meaningful in any of the proposed senses?
Physical realities matter, sensations matter, rights matter. Identities
don't. If I were duplicated, the questions that would matter to me
are: will one of the resulting conscious beings suffer pain? Will one
of them unexpectedly wake up poor and with no rights, or should I sign
a contract with my future duplicate fully consenting to the fact that
the two conscious beings created wil wake up thinking that their net
worth has been halved and their exclusive rights apportioned as agreed?
Do I have the right to impose this burden upon those with whom I share
personal relationships (for example, do I have a right to create a
conscious being who will have memories of things I agreed to keep
secret?) Will others recognize my education and accomplishments on
my duplicate's resume when he goes to look for work?
These are actual questions of fact, and concerns to think about.
Which of the lumps of flesh is "me" is just mental masturbation.
-- Lee Daniel Crocker <lee@piclab.com> <http://www.piclab.com/lee/> "All inventions or works of authorship original to me, herein and past, are placed irrevocably in the public domain, and may be used or modified for any purpose, without permission, attribution, or notification."--LDC
This archive was generated by hypermail 2.1.5 : Sat Nov 02 2002 - 08:12:21 MST