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Consciousness transfer?

AWPrime

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Consciousness transfer is a typical SF plot device, It does ask one big question. [to a new body biological or artifical].

Q: Will it be the real thing or will it be a copy or a new person?
 
The assumption behind this is that our consciousness is, somehow, a distinct entity. I believe this is false, the ego is a process, not a definite entity with a clear ontological status.

That said, the only thing that makes us "us" is our memory. If you can transfer the memory of one individual to another body, this new body will believe he is the same person. So, answering, it will be a copy.
 
Bodhi Dharma Zen said:
The assumption behind this is that our consciousness is, somehow, a distinct entity. I believe this is false, the ego is a process, not a definite entity with a clear ontological status.
Click to expand...
Boy that sure makes a whole lot of sense. It just "thinks" it is. And of course if, come to find out it were a distinct entity, guess what? We've just discovered that we have "a soul."
 
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Bodhi Dharma Zen said:
The assumption behind this is that our consciousness is, somehow, a distinct entity. I believe this is false, the ego is a process, not a definite entity with a clear ontological status.
Click to expand...
I didn't make that assumption, that's why I have included 'copy'.

That said, the only thing that makes us "us" is our memory. If you can transfer the memory of one individual to another body, this new body will believe he is the same person. So, answering, it will be a copy.
Click to expand...
That is about what I think if one excludes the wiring of the brain. But isn't 'how we think' more important then our pure memory?
 
Iacchus said:
Boy that sure makes a whole lot of sense. It just "thinks" it is. And of course if, come to find out it were a distinct entity, guess what? We've just discovered that we have "a soul."
Click to expand...
Go away.

AWPrime said:
That is about what I think if one excludes the wiring of the brain. But isn't 'how we think' more important then our pure memory?
Click to expand...
"How we think" is largely a product of memory. But you're right, we can't just transfer abstract memories, we need to transfer the physical brain to make a copy of ourselves. Brain structure and chemistry need to be copied, too.

(Shhh. Don't tell Ian.)

~~ Paul
 
Blessed Inanna, is Iacchus annoying.

If, for example, an android "thought" it was me, had all my memories, and thought the same way, then it would *be* me.

(If both of us continued to exist we would eventually be distinct individuals.)

Anyone here see the movie Imposter? If our consciousness is a product of the brain, rather than some ethereal, unknowable "soul" then you are who you think you are.

If I am an android imposter, identical to Lotus in every way, save maybe sending signals to aliens or something, then I am still *me*. You can't be anybody else besides yourself.
 
I don't think there's really a good answer to whether the transferred identity is the same as the pre-transferred identity. Of course, I'm not even sure that there's a good answer to whether the me of now is the same as the me of my memories. The whole concept of "identity" seems rather iffy, and to largely just be a product of our own perception.

That said, my own perception on the matter is that if my mind was copied (and ultimately I think most plausible forms of "mind transferance" would be more along the lines of copying than moving) the copy-me would have a pretty good claim to being me, but that I would still consider the meatsack me to have a better claim to being me because its experience would be more continous.

But again, it's all extremely vague.
 
For purposes of speculative fiction, consider conscious reincarnation. Say a shamaness managed to keep memories from one life to the next. How would she keep the memories until her brain was ready?

The physical structure of the brain would be different, as would early experience - but, retaining the memories would affect early brain developement.

Would it be the same person? For that matter, am I the same person as I was in the past?

Memories of events wouldn't be as important as the lessons learned from them, and the skills learned, especially shamanic skills.
 
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