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Personal Identity

Siliconisation

(Text as at 06/07/2023 00:43:12)

Plug Note¹

• Thesis Text:
  1. “Siliconisation” is a name – there may be others – for Thought Experiments² involving the gradual replacement of neural tissue by silicon computer³ chips.
  2. An example is Peter Unger’s “zippering”. Unfortunately, I can’t find the reference for this, so it is possible I’ve either misremembered the term, or forgotten the author. Unger does discuss the gradual replacement of neurons by silicon in pp. 122-123 of "Unger (Peter) - The Physical Approach To Our Survival", but I couldn’t see the term used there.
  3. Anyway, this is a subtle argument. We don’t – of course – know whether this TE⁴ is metaphysically⁵ possible⁶. We don’t know whether silicon can sustain consciousness⁷, though functionalists⁸ assume that it can. Gradually, it is said, we no longer have a human animal⁹, but one that will – behaviourally at least – will be indistinguishable from one.
  4. I think the situation is best viewed as an increasingly mutilated human animal¹⁰ with an ever-growing prosthesis. The term for such is a “Cyborg¹¹”.
  5. I doubt that the silicon would maintain phenomenal consciousness¹², but just be a “zombie¹³” simulacrum.
  6. Any replacement that would maintain phenomenal consciousness¹⁴ would be indistinguishable from natural part-replacement. But I think this is a contingent, empirical matter, a long way off from an answer.
  7. A question I’ve considered is whether siliconization would preserve the First Person Perspective¹⁵, irrespective of whether it impacts on consciousness¹⁶.
  8. I just note here that “silicon” is used as a proxy for any non-carbon-based intelligence¹⁷. Germanium, or Qubits might do as well (or better), though quantum¹⁸-computing¹⁹ might change the game somewhat.

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  Further Remarks:
  1. I’ve found it difficult to come up with a reading list for this topic, though it must be covered in multiple papers. So, I’ve listed anything vaguely relevant.
  2. I have included a few papers in the reading list that might naturally be better at home in one or other of my other Notes.
  3. In this regard, there is also an overlap with – and references from – my Notes on:-
     • Androids²⁰,
     • Bodily Continuity²¹
     • Brain²²,
     • Causality²³,
     • Computers²⁴,
     • Consciousness²⁵,
     • Functionalism²⁶,
     • Homo Sapiens²⁷,
     • Non-Human Persons²⁸,
     • Haecceity²⁹,
     • Transplants³⁰,

References

• Relevant Works cited above:
  1. "Unger (Peter) - The Physical Approach To Our Survival", 1992, Read
• For a Page of Links³¹ to this Note, Click here. I included “silicon” in the search, but ignored anything to do with Silicon Valley and the future of silicon as the semi-conductor of choice.
• Works on this topic that I’ve actually read³², include the following:-
  • Aeon:
    1. "Pigliucci (Massimo) - Consciousness is real", 2019, Internal PDF Link
  • General:
    1. "Baker (Lynne Rudder) - When Do Persons Begin and End?", 2005, Annotations, External Link, Internal PDF Link
    2. "Claxton (Guy) - Intelligence in the Flesh - Limbering Up: An Introduction", 2015
    3. "Haugeland (John) - Programs, causal powers, and intentionality", 1980
    4. "Marshall (John C.) - Artificial Intelligence - the real thing?", 1980
    5. "Olson (Eric) - What Are We? Brains", 2007, Write-Up Note³³, Internal PDF Link
    6. "Price (Huw), Cave (Stephen), Iida (Fumiya), Etc. - Preparing for the future: artificial intelligence and us: Part 1", 2018, External Link
    7. "Searle (John) - Breaking the Hold: Silicon Brains, Conscious Robots and Other Minds", 1992
    8. "Searle (John) - Minds, Brains, and Programs: Author's Response to Peer Review", 1980, Internal PDF Link
    9. "Thomas (Janice L.) - The identity theory", 2000
    10. "Tye (Michael) - Can Anyone Else Feel My Pains?", 1995, Footnote₃₄
    11. "Unger (Peter) - Identity, Consciousness and Value", 1992, Book
    12. "Unger (Peter) - The Physical Approach To Our Survival", 1992
• A further reading list might start with:-
  • General:
    1. "Campbell (Neil) - Anomalous Monism", Undated
    2. "Chalmers (David) - Absent Qualia, Fading Qualia, Dancing Qualia", 1996
    3. "Liao (S. Matthew) - Twinning, Inorganic Replacement, and the Organism View", 2010, Internal PDF Link, Read = 11%
    4. "Papineau (David) - Prospects for the Scientific Study of Phenomenal Consciousness", 2002, Read = 2%

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• For a list of Works that have been considered, but have missed the cut for inclusion in this Section of my Thesis, see the following:-
  1. Read: No items to list.
  2. Further Reading: No items to list.
• This is mostly a place-holder³⁵.

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In-Page Footnotes:

Footnote 34:

• Tye seems to be discussing brain-partition, with silicon transceivers. But he uses Unger’s term “zippering”.
• He is indebted to Arnold Zuboff, who may be worth following up.

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Table of the Previous 9 Versions of this Note:

Date	Length	Title
20/09/2022 11:24:00	4304	Siliconisation
15/05/2022 13:19:12	3923	Siliconisation
17/02/2021 01:17:46	3561	Siliconisation
27/05/2020 19:43:41	3056	Siliconisation
14/07/2019 18:05:46	1291	Siliconisation
11/03/2018 20:19:41	2591	Siliconisation
18/12/2010 19:58:05	696	Siliconisation
26/11/2007 23:25:26	600	Siliconisation
12/08/2007 10:17:46	598	Siliconisation

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Note last updated	Reading List for this Topic	Parent Topic
06/07/2023 00:43:12	Siliconisation	Thought Experiments

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Summary of Notes Referenced by This Note

Androids	Awaiting Attention (Personal Identity)	Bodily Continuity	Brain	Causality
Computers	Consciousness	Cyborgs	First-Person Perspective	Functionalism
Homo Sapiens	Human Animals	Intelligence	Metaphysics	Modality
Non-Human Persons	Note Links Explanation	Olson - What Are We? Brains	Plug Note Apologia	Quantum Mechanics
Thisness (Haecceity)	Thought Experiments	Transplants	Works Read - Explanation	Zombies

To access information, click on one of the links in the table above.

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Summary of Notes Citing This Note

Androids	Baker - Materialism with a Human Face	Baker - Persons in the Material World, 2	Bodily Continuity	Brain
Causality	Cyborgs	Non-Human Persons	PID Note, Book & Paper Usage, 2, 3	Research - Proposal
Status: Priority Task List (2025 - November)	Status: Summary (2025 - September)	Status: Web-Tools (2025 - September)	Thesis - Chapter 02 (What are We?)	Thesis - Chapter 03 (What is a Person?)
Thesis - Chapter 05 (Persistence and Time), 2	Thesis - Chapter 10 (Thought Experiments), 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8	Thesis - Personal Identity, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9	Thisness (Haecceity)	Transplants
Website - Outstanding Developments (2025 - December), 2	Website Generator Documentation - Functors, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6

To access information, click on one of the links in the table above.

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Authors, Books & Papers Citing this Note

Author	Title	Medium	Extra Links	Read?
Baker (Lynne Rudder)	Materialism with a Human Face	Paper		Yes
Baker (Lynne Rudder)	Persons in the Material World	Paper	2	Yes
Baker (Lynne Rudder)	When Do Persons Begin and End?	Paper	2	Yes
Block (Ned), Flanagan (Owen) & Guzeldere (Guven)	The Nature of Consciousness	Book
Campbell (Neil)	Anomalous Monism	Paper
Chalmers (David)	Absent Qualia, Fading Qualia, Dancing Qualia	Paper
Claxton (Guy)	Intelligence in the Flesh - Limbering Up: An Introduction	Paper		Yes
Haugeland (John)	Programs, causal powers, and intentionality	Paper	2, 3	Yes
Marshall (John C.)	Artificial Intelligence - the real thing?	Paper		Yes
Papineau (David)	Prospects for the Scientific Study of Phenomenal Consciousness	Paper
Pigliucci (Massimo)	Consciousness is real	Paper		Yes
Price (Huw), Cave (Stephen), Iida (Fumiya), Etc.	Preparing for the future: artificial intelligence and us: Part 1	Paper		Yes
Searle (John)	Breaking the Hold: Silicon Brains, Conscious Robots and Other Minds	Paper		Yes
Searle (John)	Minds, Brains, and Programs: Author's Response to Peer Review	Paper		Yes
Thomas (Janice L.)	The identity theory	Paper		Yes
Todman (Theo)	Thesis - Androids	Paper		Yes
Todman (Theo)	Thesis - Bodily Continuity	Paper		Yes
Todman (Theo)	Thesis - Brain	Paper		Yes
Todman (Theo)	Thesis - Causality	Paper		Yes
Todman (Theo)	Thesis - Chapter 02 (What Are We?)	Paper		Yes
Todman (Theo)	Thesis - Chapter 03 (What is a Person?)	Paper		Yes
Todman (Theo)	Thesis - Chapter 05 (Persistence and Time)	Paper	2	Yes
Todman (Theo)	Thesis - Chapter 10 (Thought Experiments)	Paper	2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8	Yes
Todman (Theo)	Thesis - Cyborgs	Paper		Yes
Todman (Theo)	Thesis - Non-Human Persons	Paper		Yes
Todman (Theo)	Thesis - Personal Identity	Paper	2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9	Yes
Todman (Theo)	Thesis - Thisness (Haecceity)	Paper		Yes
Todman (Theo)	Thesis - Transplants	Paper		Yes

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References & Reading List

Author	Title	Medium	Source	Read?
Baker (Lynne Rudder)	When Do Persons Begin and End?	Paper - Cited	Distinguished Faculty Lecture, December 5, 2005	Yes
Campbell (Neil)	Anomalous Monism	Paper - Cited	Field Guide to the Philosophy of Mind	No
Chalmers (David)	Absent Qualia, Fading Qualia, Dancing Qualia	Paper - Cited	Chalmers - The Conscious Mind, 1996, Chapter 7	No
Chalmers (David)	The Conscious Mind: In Search of a Fundamental Theory	Book - Cited (via Paper Cited)	Bibliographical details to be supplied	0%
Claxton (Guy)	Intelligence in the Flesh - Limbering Up: An Introduction	Paper - Cited	Claxton (Guy) - Intelligence in the Flesh: Chapter 1	Yes
Claxton (Guy)	Intelligence in the Flesh: Why Your Mind Needs Your Body Much More Than it Thinks	Book - Cited (via Paper Cited)	Bibliographical details to be supplied	18%
Hains (Brigid) & Hains (Paul)	Aeon: L-P	Book - Cited (via Paper Cited)	Bibliographical details to be supplied	33%
Haugeland (John)	Programs, causal powers, and intentionality	Paper - Cited	Behavioral and Brain Sciences, Volume 3 - Issue 3 - September 1980, pp. 432-432	Yes
Liao (S. Matthew)	Twinning, Inorganic Replacement, and the Organism View	Paper - Cited	Ratio, 4th January 2010	11%
Marshall (John C.)	Artificial Intelligence - the real thing?	Paper - Cited	Behavioral and Brain Sciences, Volume 3 - Issue 3 - September 1980, pp. 435-437	Yes
Olson (Eric)	What are We? A Study of Personal Ontology	Book - Cited (via Paper Cited)	Bibliographical details to be supplied	Yes
Olson (Eric)	What Are We? Brains	Paper - Cited	What Are We? A Study in Personal Ontology, Chapter 4 (November 2007: Oxford University Press.)	Yes
Papineau (David)	Prospects for the Scientific Study of Phenomenal Consciousness	Paper - Cited	Papineau - Thinking About Consciousness, Chapter 7	2%
Papineau (David)	Thinking About Consciousness	Book - Cited (via Paper Cited)	Bibliographical details to be supplied	4%
Pigliucci (Massimo)	Consciousness is real	Paper - Cited	Aeon, 16 December, 2019	Yes
Price (Huw), Cave (Stephen), Iida (Fumiya), Etc.	Preparing for the future: artificial intelligence and us: Part 1	Paper - Cited	University of Cambridge Research Horizons, Issue 35, February 2018, pp. 20-29	Yes
Searle (John)	Breaking the Hold: Silicon Brains, Conscious Robots and Other Minds	Paper - Cited	Searle - The Rediscovery of the Mind, 1992, Chapter 3	Yes
Searle (John)	Minds, Brains, and Programs: Author's Response to Peer Review	Paper - Cited	Behavioral and Brain Sciences, Volume 3 - Issue 3 - September 1980, pp. 450-457	Yes
Searle (John)	The Rediscovery of the Mind	Book - Cited (via Paper Cited)	Bibliographical details to be supplied	15%
Searle (John), Etc.	Minds, Brains, and Programs	Book - Cited (via Paper Cited)	Bibliographical details to be supplied	93%
Thomas (Janice L.)	Mind and Person in the Philosophy of Religion	Book - Cited (via Paper Cited)	Bibliographical details to be supplied	Yes
Thomas (Janice L.)	The identity theory	Paper - Cited	Thomas (Janice L.) - Mind and Person in the Philosophy of Religion	Yes
Todman (Theo)	Thesis - Siliconisation	Paper - By Subtopic		Yes
Tye (Michael)	Can Anyone Else Feel My Pains?	Paper - Cited	Tye - Ten Problems of Consciousness, 1995, Chapter 3	Yes
Tye (Michael)	Ten Problems of Consciousness	Book - Cited (via Paper Cited)	Bibliographical details to be supplied	Yes
Unger (Peter)	Identity, Consciousness and Value	Book - Cited	Unger (Peter) - Identity, Consciousness and Value	Yes
Unger (Peter)	The Physical Approach To Our Survival	Paper - Cited	Unger - Identity, Consciousness and Value, Chapter 4	Yes

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Text Colour Conventions

1. Blue: Text by me; © Theo Todman, 2025

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