[extropy-chat] Indexical Uncertainty

MB mbb386 at main.nc.us
Tue Oct 17 11:35:03 UTC 2006


At what point does the Alzheimer's sufferer become "not" the person they were? At
what point do you think "well, my dad is dead - his body is still here, but he's
not"?

I have friends who've been down this road, and when the parent finally does actually
*die* (to have a funeral, the *real* thing) they say it's like losing them a second
time.

------------

If my mind were to be transplanted into another body, as in one of the Heinlein
books - do I become someone else or am I still "me" but in another home - as
Heinlein indicated in the book?

--------------

The word "soul" and "spirit" have many religious connotations for me, but I do not
have another word that seems to describe that part of me beyond my body. What word
do we use here?  It's a given that our bodies are, by now, 100% no longer our
original cells, isn't it?

TIA for any clarification - I'm just feeling a bit confused!

Regards,
MB





More information about the extropy-chat mailing list