[ExI] Let's play What If.

[John Clark]

On Nov 8, 2010, at 3:16 PM, Damien Broderick wrote:

> Of course a copy experiences himself as the original (that's what an exact copying process *means*). Of course the rest of the world experiences him as equally you.

Then that pretty much ends the matter as far as I'm concerned, but for some reason never clearly explained, not for you.

> There are two major problems seldom addressed in this complacent view:
> 1) The jurisprudential--who owns the original's possessions?

I don't know what you mean by "seldom addressed", that's the first thing anti-uploaders say, after "it just wouldn't be me!" of course. The answer is that the ownership of the possessions will be determined by whoever makes the law at the time, and that is irrelevant to the question at hand. I said it before I'll say it again, you're talking about the law I'm talking about logic and the two things have absolutely nothing to do with one another. 

> 2) If copying requires destruction of the original [...]

Stop right there! Exactly what is being destroyed? The atoms are not destroyed, not that that's important as they are very far from unique, and the information on how those atoms are arranged are not unique either as that's been duplicated in the uploading process. So that naturally brings up another question: what is so original about The Original? There is only one possible answer to that, but as I've said before I don't believe in the soul. 

> is it psychologically likely that he will go to his death happy in the knowledge that his exact subsequent copy will continue elsewhere?

You are arguing that my ideas must be wrong because some people might fear them for unclear reasons, I don't think that follows. Primitive people are terrified to have their picture taken because they think it will rob them of their essence, some people who like to think of themselves as sophisticated refuse to live or work on the thirteenth floor of a building unless it is renamed "the fourteenth floor"; so what? The only thing more illogical than the law is psychology.   

> So if the world becomes filled with people happy to be killed and copied, of course it's likely that after a few hundred iterations identity will be construed this way by almost everyone.

Yes, so right or wrong your views have no future, mine do. 

  John K Clark



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