Jesse Mazer wrote:
>Suppose there had already been a copy made, and the two of you
>were sitting side-by-side, with the torturer giving you the
>following options:
>
>A. He will flip a coin, and one of you two will get tortured
>B. He points to you and says "I'm definitely going to torture
>the guy sitting there, but while I'm sharpening my knives he
>can press a button that makes additional copies of him as many
>times as he can."
>
>Would this change your decision in any way? What if you are
>the copy in this scenario, with a clear memory of having been
>the "original" earlier but then pressing a button and finding
>yourself suddenly standing in the copying chamber--would that
>make you more likely to choose B?
That would be a more difficult decision. At this point, having experienced
escaping the torture, I might be more inclined to change my mind. That would
certainly be intellectually inconcistent, but psychologically
understandable. But I still think I'd cboose (A).
Jonathan Colvin
Received on Wed Jun 22 2005 - 02:47:44 PDT
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