Subject:
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Re: Peronhood (was One of my issues)
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Newsgroups:
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lugnet.off-topic.debate
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Date:
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Fri, 16 Nov 2001 22:09:45 GMT
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Viewed:
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1457 times
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In lugnet.off-topic.debate, Ross Crawford writes:
> In lugnet.off-topic.debate, James Simpson writes:
> >
> > This 5-response string of linear debate was so remarkably thorough and
> > compicated in its exigesis, and so many Jameses were postulated, quoted, and
> > deconstructed that I am frankly coming to doubt my own identity.
> >
> > A friend and i have recently been debating issues pertaining to personhood. A
> > chief subject has been to explore the intricacies of personhood if:
> > 1) Your brain were removed to another body.
> > 2) All of your brain's neural functions were transferred into a brain grown in • a
> > lab such that your memories and emotional states remained unchanged in the new
> > organ
> >
> > Where would reside your personhood? In either scenario, are you the same
> > person, or a different person with the shadow of another person grafted in?
>
> On initial inspection, I'd say the latter - those memories & neural functions
> are (IMO) based on the combination of body / brain in which they reside.
> Suddenly changing that would cause...well I don't really know what it would
> cause, but the neural functions would probably have a hard time coming to terms
> with it. What if the neural functions of an athlete were implanted in the body
> / brain of a 150kg loafer? Even the basic functions, like breathing & heart
> beat would need to suddenly adjust to the new surroundings! And that adjustment
> (if possible) would cause a sudden change in who you "are".
>
> But then I guess "who you are" is constantly changing, anyway...just maybe not
> that fast.
>
> Interesting idea, though. I wonder if anyone's working on something like that?
>
> ROSCO
An even hairier one:
Person X's brain is cut in half, as is Person Y's. One pair of lobes is swapped
between the two of them (Person X's right lobe is fused with Person Y's left
lobe, etc.) What has become of their singular personhoods? Do the persons
transmute into something entirely different? Have the original persons, in
effect, ceased to exist? This is a sticky one for those of us who believe in
souls.
james
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Message has 3 Replies:
 | | Re: Peronhood (was One of my issues)
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| Unfortunately, I don't think you're going to get an answer to ANY of these cases until they are actually tried (and make no mistake, they'll be tried sooner or later, we are too curious a lot to ignore them). (...) -- | Tom Stangl, iPlanet Web (...) (23 years ago, 16-Nov-01, to lugnet.off-topic.debate)
| | | Re: Personhood[1] (was One of my issues)
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| (...) A (...) in (...) new (...) terms (...) body (...) adjustment (...) not (...) that? (...) swapped (...) Yep, exactly. How much of the "person" is in the "soul"? I say none, the soul doesn't really exist, but who knows? ROSCO [1] Lar, note (...) (23 years ago, 17-Nov-01, to lugnet.off-topic.debate)
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Message is in Reply To:
| | Re: Peronhood (was One of my issues)
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| (...) a (...) On initial inspection, I'd say the latter - those memories & neural functions are (IMO) based on the combination of body / brain in which they reside. Suddenly changing that would cause...well I don't really know what it would cause, (...) (23 years ago, 16-Nov-01, to lugnet.off-topic.debate)
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