[extropy-chat] How to be copied into the future?

[Stathis Papaioannou]

On 4/30/07, Heartland <velvethum at hotmail.com> wrote:
>
> Stathis:
> >> If I-now think I've survived as a continuation of I-before,
> >> then that's what matters in survival.
>
> That doesn't matter at all. Why should it matter? Is there an argument for
> why this
> should matter? If it exists, I would love to read it.


The problem I have is with your definition of death. Suppose the traffic
authorities decreed that drivers who exceeded the speed limit would die
whenever photographed by one of their special cameras, as a deterrent.
People would argue that in fact nothing has happened, but the
counterargument would be that something has happened, and the
post-photograph person only thinks he is the same as the pre-photograph
person. There might be lab results indicating that all the cell membranes of
volunteers giving their lives for traffic safety research go into a
particular conformation when zapped by the cameras which for a nanosecond
disrupts transmembrane ionic fluxes, and which the researchers insist is
incontrovertible evidence that death has taken place. Would you have an
argument to show that they are wrong? If so, why couldn't a similar argument
be used against your criterion for death?

Stathis Papaioannou
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