C1.extra
file c1.extra Updated 5:38 pm August 8, 1994/ 4:11 pm April 30, 1993
Moved from c1.part3
If a person had two choices for the continuation of his life, the first choice a deformed body with brain damage, a continuation of his own body from a severe accident, or second an exact identireplica of that body before that accident which would he choose? I personally would choose the identireplica rather than the original. Now if you could choose between your present body and a younger smarter clearly superior body which one would you choose? Does that imply that my present body dies?
When we consider it we really don't know what a person is! We have a personal understanding of ourselves but changes in that self do not need to be visible to that self. Changes that occur to that self many time we learn about indirectly.
cover changes in the original tie it into other life forms and other animals
If we make enough changes to the replica we will end up with another person. If we make even more substantial changes we will end up with other animals.
There are a tremendous amount of changes that can be applied to a identireplica. If we could approximately make identireplicas then we could also make deliberate positive changes to these identireplicas.
POSSIBILITIES OF RECREATION OF A PERSON
What is the possibility of a person being created again? However you came to exist you are a being that can exist. This may seem trivial but imagine a universe that the physical laws were such that the creation of you was an impossibility. We know so little about the universe we live in that we don't know the possibility of your recreation. What we can do is speculate as to possible ways that a person could be recreated. If a person believes in the existence of a god it would be easy to believe that if he made you once he could do it again. In fact the christian and some other religions believe this. If nature made you then what might be the possibilities of nature making you again if it has not already done so. If the universe is cyclic and repeats itself exactly each time it cycles then every cycle every person is recreated at least once. We can imagine a universe that cycles through all possibilities it would take longer to get back to making an exact duplicate of person but time is not a problem. Poetic justice would run rampant in such a universe We now come to the possibility of man recreating himself. Why would he want to? A lot of people worry about death, this is one of the reasons why people are religious. If man can recreate himself after death he has accomplished a feat that only gods are supposed to do. There are two aspects of the task that we need to consider. First, is it possible Second how to acquire the knowledge. The possibility aspect can be looked at in at least two ways. First, is it possible that can man acquire the knowledge and skill to do it. Second, is it physically possible. It appears to be possible in one way i.e. the way you were created. Why it was possible to make you at one time and not now or at some future date does not seem too probable to me but, maybe its the old proverbial" god broke the mold when he made you and doesn't know how to make another one".
There are two types of knowledge necessary. The first type of knowledge is how to create people in general which means how to manipulate matter in general to have the desired structure and potential. Second, the knowledge that can tie together the desired person to the material structure.
I can see four ways that a person might be recreated: by nature, by another life form, by mankind himself, by a god.
Why might speculation of this sort be of value to science or to man? It may help in developing scientific research programs, but, the kind of research program would be beyond mans current scientific capabilities. It may be that some day we encounter a civilization that has knowledge of these ideas. Man has a curiosity beyond what science is capable of investigating. Speculation like this hurts when it becomes a dogma and no more criticism or further speculation is allowed.
Experiment one increase or decrease the size of the brain.
What if the (a) nerves are replaced by a device that can duplicate the precise function of the nerve?
Move the brain from the body where is the seat of consciousness? It is where you are tuned into the world -- like through the senses.
What if all the nerves are divided (any distance) but they are made to function the same as if connected?
It might be said that what produces awareness is certain complex functioning.