[extropy-chat] Cryonics and uploading

[Russell Wallace]

On 1/26/06, Bret Kulakovich <bret at bonfireproductions.com> wrote:
>
>
> What a nice thread! Here's my two kopeks worth.
>
> Lets jump forward and assume perfects - we quantum entangle a brain into a
> cubic 20cm box. It is a perfect and exact copy. Good job!
>
> But even though it is a duplicate of the original, it is not the original,
> no matter how perfect.
>

Okay, so you hold the thread view of identity, fair enough.

The mind/body problem holds generally that monists hold conscience as an
> electro-chemical event, the body and mind are inseparable. Dualists hold
> that the mind/body are separate and discreet, perhaps a body/soul or
> body/spirit is going on, and they are distinct.
>

*laughs* I suppose I've seen patternites accuse threadites [1] of believing
in dualism and the soul often enough, the compliment was bound to be
returned sooner or later.

But no, neither view has anything to do with that. If you're going to try to
relate the pattern view to classical philosophy, you should call it not
dualist but Platonist.

You can see one lends itself immediately to the possibility of cryonics, and
> the other to uploading. Sure they can each lean in one direction or the
> other...
>

The pattern view is fine with cryonics, just as long as the information in
the brain is preserved.

And in the thread view, you should be fine with gradual uploading (neuron by
neuron, with your thread of consciousness unbroken), just not with
destructive scan uploading.

[1] Barbaric abuse of language, I know, are there any better short terms for
people who subscribe to the thread versus pattern views of identity? I tried
the "-ist" version and it looked even worse.

- Russell
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