From: Lee Corbin (lcorbin@tsoft.com)
Date: Mon Nov 04 2002 - 01:44:48 MST
gts writes
> 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.
Sorry, I thought that it was rhetorical. Who determines what
constitutes a "high degree of similarity" depends on circumstances.
Normally, as for example between people who know each other quite
well, other people decide. They announce whether someone's behavior
changes frequently or rarely. They can be fooled quite easily,
of course. Sometimes an individual can observe changes within
himself or herself.
What is germane to the discussion of teleporters and duplicates,
however, is how different someone would be who was backed up
or who (at the same time) was at two different places. Here,
we can confidently say that the difference between a person
and his backup is precisely the same as the difference between
a person at two different times. Most people don't think that
this is a great deal of difference (although I know that you
and some psychologists evidently have another opinion).
> 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?
Listen, we keep going around and around on this. You *don't*
believe that we are the same person from day to day, I do.
I believe that it makes sense to inquire whether or not I
shall be living in a year. Evidently you do not. For me,
it makes sense to try to save my life through cryonics,
because I think that I'll be the same person if little
enough damage occurs to my brain.
You don't believe that you are the same person tomorrow
that you are today, and so you go to the dentist only
for altruistic reasons: you are concerned that the
person replacing you next week might have a toothache,
and you feel sorry for him.
Suppose you were a politician running for office. How
could you honestly expect people to vote for you when
a different person would assume office? :-)
> 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?
That example is preposterous. Either legally the senator
can claim to be the same person or he cannot. You should
realize that if backups ever become legal then a backup
will assume full authority for the persona "he" had earlier.
A backup will be respected as the same person as you
should realize. This is a good example of what happens
(I guess) when people don't read enough SF?
Lee
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