X-Message-Number: 18503
Date: Wed, 6 Feb 2002 14:47:19 -0800 (PST)
From: Scott Badger <>
Subject: Re: Memories and Survival

Hello all,

This topic is somewhat disturbing for me because I
often feel that I am walking at the edge of the
identity abyss.  Obviously, the central goal of
cryonics is the preservation of the self.  Indeed,
many on this board are not so much life-extensionists
as they are self-extensionists.  It follows that a
stark and ongoing examination of the nature of self is
part and parcel of being so self-absorbed (not a
pejorative).

Q: How important are memories to identity?

Prof. Ettinger is correct in reminding us that many of
our memories are flawed. They were often flawed in the
making as well as flawed in subsequent
reconstructions.  The term  limited fidelity  is very
appropriate. Ettinger also wrote:

 Further, suppose you were somehow to discover that
your memories are false--that they were recently
implanted. You would be upset, but how would it
basically matter? Our actual histories and memories
are just cosmic accidents anyway--why does it matter
if they are true or false, so long as they are healthy
enough to allow an ongoing healthy life? 

This reminded me of the fascinating movie,  Dark
City , where aliens were conducting a massive
experiment on a city full of humans, manipulating and
mixing memories between them. Every day, each person
awoke with a new set of memories, a new personality, a
new environmental setting.  And the aliens watched to
see their reaction (I won t tell you anymore but I
liked it). Yes, everyone s life was ongoing,
functional and healthy enough. Essentially, thousands
were murdered every night and replaced with new
individuals.  And what if the aliens had simply
decided they were finished one day and left the city
with its current population to continue on? Would it
have really mattered in any substantial way that left
on Tuesday instead of Wednesday or Saturday? 

The analogy between Dark City and reality for me is
that each human brain is in a constant state of
physical neuronal change.  You really aren t the same
person you were last night, even if the difference is
small.  Can we say that "You" are constantly being
killed by this natural process and likewise constantly
replaced with a new "You" that's only a close
approximation? Aren't the differences between (1)
being a citizen of Dark City, (2) having false
memories implanted into your mind by a therapist, and
(3) simply waking up this morning ... simply a matter
of degree?

See what I mean about the abyss?

Also, in my view, it is the processing of the
information making up the memory that is more closely
associated with the self rather than the memory
itself.  A memory is simply information. It may have
affective tags associated with it, but that s still
just information for what the brain is supposed to do
with the information.  And information can be stored
in a number of ways, in the brain, on paper, on a CD,
etc.  Processing that information from the unique
perspective of your personality, habits, dispositions,
etc is the self in action. Memories are also sort of
like possessions; you ve lost some over the years, you
have a collection now, and you ll be getting some new
ones sometime soon.

Sorry for the long post. I have more to say but will
do so in a future post.

Oh just one more thing, Rafi Haftka wrote: 

 I remember watching the movie Heaven Can Wait, where
Warren Beattie is returned to life from heaven but
without any memories of his previous life. I felt at
the time that this was a sham revival, and I still do
think so today. 

Uh, I seem to recall quite vividly that Beatty was
quite aware of his previous life as a star quarterback
and health freak.  It s why he looked up his previous
coach. It s why his behaviors seemed so outrageous to
those close to the person s body he inhabited.

Don t you remember?

Scott Badger

 Vita Pertua 



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