tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8310450667755637519.post855215524868452995..comments2023-10-14T09:40:06.690-05:00Comments on Jean Kazez: Surviving Death (4): Is Survival Real?Jean Kazezhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00592593002719828153noreply@blogger.comBlogger8125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8310450667755637519.post-64935923595298916742010-08-18T22:03:48.916-05:002010-08-18T22:03:48.916-05:00OK--I made it out to be too simple. The boy doesn...OK--I made it out to be too simple. The boy doesn't simply find out he survived, but he finds out something, and that something does seem relevant to whether or not he survived! His community strikes me as being in the grip of a superstition about general anesthesia, and the same goes for the Hibernators and their superstition about hibernation. It seems like a good theory ought to be ableJean Kazeznoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8310450667755637519.post-5584076393945500922010-08-18T10:32:00.251-05:002010-08-18T10:32:00.251-05:00"You have to somehow test a theory"
Wel..."You have to somehow test a theory"<br /><br />Well that's the interesting thing. If Johnston is right about selves, then there is no "test." It would be like testing for pain. Doctors don't say "Oh you say you are in pain? We don't believe it. Let's do some tests and see if you're really in pain." Reports of pain and certain other reports are Faustnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8310450667755637519.post-10887578014071156952010-08-17T17:31:28.283-05:002010-08-17T17:31:28.283-05:00Yes there are many different things we trace--the ...Yes there are many different things we trace--the animal, the self, the person, the personality. It is all .... complicated. I agree there's animal-relevant stuff in here, which I've been enjoying.Jean Kazezhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00592593002719828153noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8310450667755637519.post-69427217178091733252010-08-17T13:27:07.518-05:002010-08-17T13:27:07.518-05:00Well part of the problem here is that Johsont spli...Well part of the problem here is that Johsont split the problem into two parts: there are "selves" and "personalities" (don't recall if this is exactly how he does it, I'm away from my books). He agrees that personalities do not survive. He thinks that there is this other thing called "arenas of presence and action" that are much more mutable, and can be seenFaustnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8310450667755637519.post-72894767893104818972010-08-17T13:10:00.877-05:002010-08-17T13:10:00.877-05:00You have to somehow test a theory, and I think the...You have to somehow test a theory, and I think the class of cases where people wonder if they'll survive, and then seem to find out (without "dispositions" playing any role) are a problem for him. The boy seems to find out he survives--it's a huge strain to think otherwise. Johnson has to say "no dispositions, so no fact about whether he survives." That's Jean Kazezhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00592593002719828153noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8310450667755637519.post-40245732269698953272010-08-17T12:49:22.387-05:002010-08-17T12:49:22.387-05:00Ahh I see. I agree that many people will find basi...Ahh I see. I agree that many people will find basic teletransportation to be uncontroversial. <br /><br />I don't find your take on the boy who "discovers" that it's still himself really blocks Johnston's argument. If he decided to describe himself in some alternative way would there be a fact of the matter as to whether or not he was wrong? That is to say, if he bought Faustnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8310450667755637519.post-59809867946997683092010-08-17T11:52:49.531-05:002010-08-17T11:52:49.531-05:00I wasn't actually taking a stand on transporte...I wasn't actually taking a stand on transporter survival. What I'm wondering is why Johnston thinks the whole tribe of Human Beings do not accept post-transport survival. After all, everyone watches Star Trek and thinks it's Jim who enters the transport room and winds up below on planet whatever. Philosophers can certainly make this seem problematic, but I would say most Human Jean Kazezhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00592593002719828153noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8310450667755637519.post-13053320522400931482010-08-17T11:29:22.061-05:002010-08-17T11:29:22.061-05:00I think the notions surrounding the transporters a...I think the notions surrounding the transporters are not uncommon. From Athena's article posted a while back on your cryogenics post:<br /><br />"Unless the transfer of a mind retains the brain, there will be no continuity of consciousness. Regardless of what the post-transfer identity may think, the original mind with its associated brain and body will still die –- and be aware of the Faustnoreply@blogger.com