:: Here you seem to be speaking of divergence between two instances of
:: the same person, as they ac***ulate different experiences. That's an
:: obvious phenomenon, but it doesn't seem to speak to the question of
:: whether they both are equally "really" the initial instance, plus
:: some aging, or whether only one of them can legitimately claim that
:: title.
: mchary@[EMAIL PROTECTED]
(Michael Alan Chary)
: Okay, why *would* they be the same?
Um. Because it's a given of the hypothetical?
AIUI, they have identical physical structure
(assuming translation invariance) to start with.
So if either one of them says "I am Samantha", they have
the same justification for that claim; neither really has
a better, physically justifiable rationale.
( Well... ignoring the Marat insistance on saying "I am called Samantha".
)
The question (aiui) is whether the history of the physical
constituents of prospective Samantha-candidates count, or only
the current structure. In physics (and/or physicalism), the
answer seems to be, no. Because fundamentally at the lowest
level, particles don't keep rack of history. All that matters is
their current state. ( Yeah, OK, quantum entanglement, but that's
part of "their current state", not really a history as such. )
An electron is an electron is an electron.
The odd part of this scenario is, if somebody *else* keeps track
of all the histories, *should* that record be part of judging claims
of Samanthahood? I suppose one could simply agree to one or the other.
Saying they shouldn't seems in some ways more useful and/or consistent.
Because otherwise your identity would depend on somebody else's records.
I suppose it's the difference between being a physicist and a bureaucrat.
"I am Sam. Sam I am." --- Dr Seuss
"I do not like your kicks so high,
I do not like them, Sam-R-I." --- Rasselor
"After countless exposures to biotonic energy,
no mutations, no enhanced abilities, no nothing.
It seems you will never be anything more than a mere monkey."
--- Dexter's Laboratory, Dial M for Monkey
( see... see, the exposures... they didn't affect
anything, so like, the history of the particles
of the monkey... no wait, he ended up being Monkey,
diminuitive superhero and idol of millions, and was
just keeping this *secret* from Dexter. Hm.
Have to think this example through a bit more.
No, wait, that's right, the identity didn't depend on
what Dexter *knew* about; it depended on the physical
properties of his body, which *were* affected by the
biotonic energy. Still sup****ts my position,
so that's OK then. )
Narrator: Suddenly, Ned's zipper is hit by a meteor,
bitten by radioactive bugs, bombarded with unknown nuclear
energies and struck with the power of the Norse Gods!
Ned: Wow. That almost never happens.
--- Dave the Barbarian, "Ned Frishman: Man of Tomorrow"
Wayne Throop throopw@[EMAIL PROTECTED]
http://sheol.org/throopw
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