• jaycifer@kbin.social
    25·
    9 months ago

    There is a chapter or two from a book by philosopher Derek Parfit that tackles the transporter issue pretty head-on. It draws what I feel to be a pretty compelling distinction between the continuity of your conscious mind, referred to as Relation R, and the personal identity that is lost when using the transporter. He then asks which is more important. Worth a read if this stuff interests you.

    • be_excellent_to_each_other@kbin.social
      2·
      9 months ago

      I look forward to reading it, and I will be able to enjoy certain kinds of scifi much more if it convinces me nothing is lost. Your phrasing makes me think it’s just going to reinforce my general worry about that sort of tech though.

      (I recognize that it’s fictional, it just breaks stories with similar tech a bit for me.)

          • flying_sheep@lemmy.mlEnglish
            1·
            9 months ago

            Your continued existence isn’t in question. Continuity of consciousness is an illusion. If you would put your brain state in stasis and resume it later, you wouldn’t feel any different. Neither would a copied version of you. That feeling of continuity is all there is to consciousness.

              • flying_sheep@lemmy.mlEnglish
                1·
                9 months ago

                No you wouldn’t be any deader than you will be a fraction of a second from now. You only live in the moment. In the next you are replaced by someone who is almost, but not exactly you. Continuous consciousness is an illusion, or a concept. There’s no magic piece that makes you you.

                It’s a trick of perspective.