X-Message-Number: 19896
Date: Sat, 24 Aug 2002 21:47:17 -0700
From: Mike Perry <>
Subject: Re: Viewpoints

Robert Ettinger, #19879, says:

>Mike Perry says a case can be made for either the "pattern" or "token" view
>of identity, and no experiment can prove one better than the other.

Actually, I say:

>However, I think that both
>positions can be defended on logical grounds; there is no experimental test
>that will "prove" one is right or the other. It's a matter of which point
>of view you prefer. (In my book I discuss what I think are some good
>reasons to prefer the patternist position.)

Actually, I happen to think the pattern view *will* win out in the end (see 
discussion in my book, esp. in chs. 7, 13); however this will not be 
because the token view is found to be logically incoherent.

Mike Perry

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