[ExI] Would human uploads have emotions?

[Ben Zaiboc]

I'm baffled by the opinions being expressed here.

We all understand what computer simulations are, and that digital 
computers can simulate anything, to an arbitrary level of detail.

But somehow, endocrine systems and emotions are exempt from this?

And bodies?

I'd agree that more advanced uploads may well do away with some of these 
things, after a suitable period of experimentation, but surely the first 
uploads will need to be provided with virtual bodies, including an 
endocrine system (and a whole bunch of other things, that we don't even 
know yet for sure), and we will do our best to exactly replicate all the 
experiences, including emotional ones, that physical humans have.

To say that uploads can't have endocrine systems, and would be 
emotionless, is like saying that a flight simulator can't have ailerons 
and so can't emulate a roll. That would be a pretty useless flight 
simulator. Similarly, an upload with an incomplete set of the things 
that contribute to our experiences would be pretty useless. Apart from 
anything else, how could you verify it?

I would have thought it was obvious that an upload wouldn't just consist 
of an emulated brain, but would also need a virtual body, and that we 
will need to figure out just what can and can't be omitted from the 
total system that is our physical bodies. Some things are obvious, like, 
say, the exact structure of bones. Some are currently unknown, like the 
effect of our immune systems on our cognition. There's a lot of 
complexity, naturally, but there's absolutely no cause to claim that 
some specific aspect /can't/ be emulated. That would be ridiculous, imo.

Apart from all that, I'd say that emotion underlies thought, and talk of 
having an 'emotionless' mind is nonsense. Like building a car without an 
engine. When we talk of someone being emotionless, we don't actually 
mean someone who has no emotions. They have more control over their 
emotions than most people is all it is. If someone genuinely had no 
emotions, they wouldn't survive. They'd have to reason to get out of 
bed, to talk to other people, no reason to do anything at all, even eat.

Ben