X-Message-Number: 17153
Date: Mon, 30 Jul 2001 22:02:13 -0700
From: Mike Perry <>
Subject: Cat's View of Survival 

George Smith, #17143, consults his cat for advice about survival. His cat 
(Dr. Spot) says its basically you seek pleasure and avoid pain, which is 
about what my cat, Aido, also says. I ask Aido if he would be eternally 
happy with an infinite carpet of catfood to munch up, always staying hungry 
but always in the process of getting satiated. And more or less he says 
yeah, that would be fine, provided he didn't have too long a memory or 
otherwise it might get boring. Or it may be that there are other pleasures 
too that he'd want to enjoy. So I say, okay, suppose we just make you a 
wirehead--fix you up so your pleasure centers are stimulated to the max, 
you are thrilled and gratified as much as you have the capacity to 
sense--and just leave you that way. Well, my cat has no reason *not* to 
favor that alternative, since he has no conception of developing into a 
higher being, which requires some idea of what it is that is to develop as 
well as what it should mean to develop but not change into a different 
being (because, after all, it's Aido himself who wants to benefit, not some 
other entity). I try to tell him that to properly consider these issues, 
and what survival should mean, including *what it is* that is to survive, 
you need some notion of *self*. I also try to tell him that being concerned 
about this *could* be burdensome, but *need not be*, and, in fact, it could 
also be delightful, if done the right way under the right circumstances. In 
particular you don't have to worry that you must "earn the right" to 
survive! You already have that right! That part I think he does understand, 
and it's something we both agree on very well. But otherwise he's only a 
cat, and he doesn't get what I'm talking about, or if he does, he doesn't 
seem interested. Just bring on the acres of ecstasy, he seems to keep 
saying. What do I need my memories or any of that stuff for, it's only a 
means to an end, isn't it, something you could just bypass and forget 
about? Well, I have other plans for him. Some day, I intend to see to it 
that he advances to a being with greater capacity to see what I'm talking 
about, so then he'll be in a better position to judge, and just maybe not 
opt for becoming a wirehead. Since he's only a cat I can probably get away 
with it, though I might have to get off-planet first.

Mike Perry 

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