RE: Duplicates Are Selves

From: Jonathan Colvin <jcolvin.domain.name.hidden>
Date: Sun, 3 Jul 2005 14:44:41 -0700

Hal wrote:
>If imperfect or diverged copies are to be considered as
>lesser-degree selves, is there an absolute rule which applies,
>an objective reality which governs the extent to which two
>different individuals are the same "self", or is it ultimately
>a matter of taste and opinion for the individuals involved to
>make the determination? Is this something that reasonable
>people can disagree on, or is there an objective truth about
>it that they should ultimately come to agreement on if they
>work at it long enough?

The way I see it, "Me" or my self is a poorly defined concept. It can refer
to a number of different things. It could refer to my physical body (now or
in the past or future); the mind that is part of *this* physical body (now
or in the past or future); any mind or body indentical to this mind or body;
any mind or bosy similar to this mind or body; etc. What you attach the
descriptor "me" to is really a matter only of taste or context. One could
try to tighten the definition of "me" to make it non-ambiguous, but then
inevitably this will run afoul of one of the various thought experiments
this list enjoys entertaining.

Jonathan Colvin

 
Received on Sun Jul 03 2005 - 17:49:42 PDT