From: Stathis Papaioannou (stathisp@gmail.com)
Date: Sun Dec 06 2009 - 20:29:15 MST
2009/12/7 Bradley Thomas <brad36@gmail.com>:
>>If two experiences S1 and S2 are generated by the one computation but share
> no content (because the program deletes data from the memory of the subject
> and inserts unrelated data in its place) then there is no subjective
> connection between them. On the other hand, if the two experiences are
> generated by unrelated computations but just happen to share content, so
> that S2 remembers being S1, then they are subjectively connected.
>
> This is interesting. What kind of content overlap does it take for two data
> sets to be "subjectively connected"? Is there a clear definition?
There is no exact definition. It is possible to lose large chunks of
your memory and personality as a result of brain injury and still
remain you, i.e. feel that you are subjectively connected to previous
versions of yourself. But if the injury is bad enough that you
remember nothing of the past and people who know you don't recognise
you apart from your physical appearance, then you may as well be dead.
Things would be more complex if memories, personalities and the sense
of identity itself could be altered easily and discontinuously. On the
other hand gradual alteration might be OK, even if the end result is
radically different, since that is what happens as a person grows up.
-- Stathis Papaioannou
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