Bruno Marchal writes:
> <snip>
>
> > We can assume that the structural difference makes a difference to
> > consciousness but
> > not external behaviour. For example, it may cause spectrum reversal.
>
>
> Let us suppose you are right. This would mean that there is
> substitution level such that the digital copy person would act AS IF
> she has been duplicated at the correct level, but having or living a
> (1-person) spectrum reversal.
>
> Now what could that mean? Let us interview the copy and ask her the
> color of the sky. Having the same external behavior as the original,
> she will told us the usual answer: blue (I suppose a sunny day!).
>
> So, apparently she is not 1-aware of that spectrum reversal. This means
> that from her 1-person point of view, there was no spectrum reversal,
> but obviously there is no 3-description of it either ....
>
> So I am not sure your assertion make sense. I agree that if we take an
> incorrect substitution level, the copy could experience a spectrum
> reversal, but then the person will complain to her doctor saying
> something like "I have not been copied correctly", and will not pay her
> doctor bill (but this is a different external behaviour, ok?)
I don't doubt that there is some substitution level that preserves 3rd person
behaviour and 1st person experience, even if this turns out to mean copying
a person to the same engineering tolerances as nature has specified for ordinary
day to day life. The question is, is there some substitution level which preserves
3rd person behaviour but not 1st person experience? For example, suppose
you carried around with you a device which monitored all your behaviour in great
detail, created predictive models, compared its predictions with your actual
behaviour, and continuously refined its models. Over time, this device might be
able to mimic your behaviour closely enough such that it could take over control of
your body from your brain and no-one would be able to tell that the substitution
had occurred. I don't think it would be unreasonable to wonder whether this copy
experiences the same thing when it looks at the sky and declares it to be blue as
you do before the substitution.
Stathis Papaioannou
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Received on Fri Dec 01 2006 - 04:25:07 PST