[ExI] Mind Uploading article in Wikipedia

[John K Clark]

Me:
>> But of course nearly everyone, even most people
>> on this list believe in the vitalist view. [.] But of course
>> nearly everyone, even most people on this list
>> believe in the soul.

"spike" <spike66 at att.net>

> Evidence please John?

The evidence can be found in the Extropian archives going back to
the mid 90's, and probably earlier.

> You may be right, but how did you reach that conclusion?

I come to that conclusion after debating the matter of uploading for well
over 15 years; in all that time almost nobody agrees with me. I maintain
that there is simply no way I could be wrong about it UNLESS the basic
premise I build everything on is wrong, UNLESS it turns out that there
really is some truth to vitalism and the soul after all.

People wail "but that upload just wouldn't be me" but when asked exactly why
it wouldn't be you the response I get is always the same; I receive
paragraphs and paragraphs of verbiage, but every single one of the grand
sounding pseudo-scientific phrases in them turn out to be nothing but
euphemisms for the soul or plaintive cries that silicon could never hope to
equal meat, it just couldn't.

I don't want to insult people by saying that they are too cowardly to follow
an idea as far as it will go regardless of whatever strange destination it
leads to, so I can only conclude that most on this list disagree with my
basic premise and believe in the ideas behind vitalism and the soul, even if
they don't like the particular words very much.

And it's not just Extropians, my premise is too shocking for Shock Level
Four also. Sorry if I sound a bit cranky, but that's the way I see it.

 John K Clark