From: gts (gts_2000@yahoo.com)
Date: Sun Nov 03 2002 - 08:58:05 MST
Lee Corbin wrote:
> > And who is going to determine what constitutes a "high degree of
>> similarity" between one personality and the next? Clearly it is entirely
>> a judgment call based on arbitrary criteria.
>
> Just as we cannot measure differences in OS's with any mathematical
> accuracy doesn't mean that such differences aren't quite objective.
> The situation is entirely similar (!) to that of whether a lizard
> is more similar to a twig or to a snake. Some will say, "Oh, but
> that can be answered by DNA!". Well, one might respond, what makes
> DNA the arbiter? The universe has a great many measuring devices,
> most of them living beings. Whether it's an insect or a human,
> the *real* difference between a lizard and a snake is measured to
> be greater than between a lizard and a twig.
You did not answer my question.
Let us say that I am a US Senator. I change my position with respect to an
important political question after my last back-up, for example the question
of whether to approve Bush's impending use of force against Iraq. I then die
and my back-up is restored. Who decides if my backup is the same person I
was when I died? If the backup is considered the same person who died then
his vote on the issue will be valid, but if not then his vote must be
stricken from the record. The future of the world could hang on the decision
of whether my backup is really me. Who makes that decision, Lee, and based
on what criteria?
-gts
This archive was generated by hypermail 2.1.5 : Wed Jan 15 2003 - 17:57:56 MST