From: Michael S. Lorrey (retroman@turbont.net)
Date: Fri May 05 2000 - 06:17:30 MDT
Eugene Leitl wrote:
>
> Zero Powers writes:
> > Killing a sentient being, whether an identical twin, an exact replica of you
>
> An exact replica of you (you do realize what that means, don't you?)
> is you. This means, there are two instances of you, both being in the
> exact the same state. As long as they don't bifurcate, I don't see why
> you can't delete one of them.
>
> The only objectionable point here is that by doing so, you devoid one
> of the clones from a future possibility of bifurcation, and subsequent
> divergence, and hence from becoming an individual being.
>
> Terminating a fully synched self clone is imo less than a murder. It
> is very much like an abortion, because it prevents a potential human
> being from being created. Current society is quite divided on the
> ethics of the matter.
>
Not really Gene. Abortion happens before birth. Two live independent
identical individuals can be best approximated by two infant twins.
Killing one of them is most definitely not ok by anyone's stretch of the
imagination, as I've even gotten John to concede that point. Bifurcation
occurs almost instantly after the point of duplication and separation.
Now, if we are dealing with upload copies, that is something entirely
different, but only if the copies are not activated, or if the two
willingly merge back into one to preserve the memory, the experience of
each individual. See Charles Sheffield's _Tomorrow and Tomorrow_.
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