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Personal Identity
Uploading
(Text as at 06/07/2023 00:43:12)
Plug Note1
- Thesis Text:
- This Note will discuss the Transhumanist2 fantasy of uploading you3 (or your mind4) to a computer5.
- For this to be possible, the “Computer Model” of the mind – which seems to be the dominant paradigm in neuroscience – needs to be true of us, and not just a model. This is the view that the brain operates like a digital computer6 and is disputed by, for example, "Epstein (Robert) - The empty brain".
- "Miller (Kenneth D.) - Will You Ever Be Able to Upload Your Brain?" points out the formidable technical obstacles to building a full model of the brain, and that consequently Uploading is not to be anticipated any century soon. The author does, however, think that it is metaphysically possible7.
- I don’t believe this, for the same reason that I don’t think Teletransportation8 – even if technically feasible – is identity-preserving. Rather than uploading you, we’d only achieve a simulation. But even if the individual ‘in’ the computer were to be conscious9 and a person10, it would not be you but someone else.
- Additionally, this Note should cover the – more realistic but still technologically very remote – possibility of uploading information11 into our brains12, though this overlaps with Brain State Transfer13, though the latter is the uploading of an entire psychology rather than information (and to a brain, rather than a computer14).
References
- Relevant Works cited above:
- "Epstein (Robert) - The empty brain", 2016, Annotations, External Link, Internal PDF Link, Read
- "Miller (Kenneth D.) - Will You Ever Be Able to Upload Your Brain?", 2015, External Link, Internal PDF Link, Read
- For a Page of Links15 to this Note, Click here.
- Works on this topic that I’ve actually read16, include the following:-
- Aeon:
- "Clark (Andy) & Kuhn (Robert Lawrence) - Aeon: Video - Andy Clark - Virtual immortality", 2019, External Link, Footnote17
- "Epstein (Robert) - The empty brain", 2016, Annotations, External Link, Internal PDF Link
- "Graziano (Michael) - Endless fun", 2013, External Link, Internal PDF Link
- General:
- "Dainton (Barry) - Self: Philosophy In Transit: Prologue", 2014, Footnote18
- "Grossman (Lev), Kurzweil (Ray) - 2045: The Year Man Becomes Immortal", 2011, Write-Up Note19, Annotations
- "Hawthorne (John X.) - Are You Ready For The Cyborg Technology Coming In 2021?", 2018, External Link, Internal PDF Link
- "Heyes (Cecilia M.) - Cognitive Gadgets: The Cultural Evolution of Thinking", 2018, Book
- "Kaku (Michio) - The Future of the Mind: The Scientific Quest To Understand, Enhance and Empower the Mind", 2014, Book, Footnote20
- "Miller (Kenneth D.) - Will You Ever Be Able to Upload Your Brain?", 2015, External Link, Internal PDF Link
- "Moore (Adrian W.) - Is the quest for immortality worse than death?", 2019, External Link
- "O'Connell (Mark) - To be a Machine", 2017, Book
- "Shoemaker (David) - Personal Identity and Immortality", 2009
- "Smith (Barry C.), Broks (Paul), Kennedy (A.L.) & Evans (Jules) - Audio: What Does It Mean to Be Me?", 2015, External Link, Footnote21
- "Tegmark (Max) - Life 3.0: Being Human in the Age of Artificial Intelligence", 2018, Book
- A further reading list might start with:-
- General:
- "Agar (Nicholas) - Whereto Transhumanism?: The Literature Reaches a Critical Mass", 2007, Internal PDF Link, Read = 33%
- "Cerullo (Michael A.) - Uploading and Branching Identity", 2015, Annotations, External Link, Internal PDF Link, Read = 133%
- "Chalmers (David) - The Singularity: A philosophical analysis", 2010, External Link, Internal PDF Link
- "Corabi (Joseph) & Schneider (Susan) - The Metaphysics of Uploading", 2012, External Link, Internal PDF Link
- "Dainton (Barry) - Future Selves", 2014, No Abstract
- "Hayworth (Kenneth) - Killed by bad philosophy: Why brain preservation followed by mind uploading is a cure for death", 2010, External Link, Internal PDF Link
- "Koene (Randal A.) - Uploading to Substrate-Independent Minds", 2013
- "Merkle (Ralph C.) - Uploading", 2013
- "Prisco (Giulio) - Transcendent Engineering", 2013
- 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:-
- Read: No items to list.
- Further Reading: No items to list.
- This is mostly a place-holder22.
In-Page Footnotes:
Footnote 17:
- Also look through other works by Andy Clark to get a handle on what he means by 'patterns in information space'.
Footnote 18: Footnote 20:
- I’ve read this book, but it’s insufficiently philosophical for its arguments – such as they are – to be worth considering as a priority.
Footnote 21:
Table of the Previous 6 Versions of this Note:
Note last updated |
Reading List for this Topic |
Parent Topic |
06/07/2023 00:43:12 |
None available |
Transhumanism |
Summary of Notes Referenced by This Note
To access information, click on one of the links in the table above.
Summary of Notes Citing This Note
2045: The Year Man Becomes Immortal |
Aeon Papers - Summary Document: 2017-2018 |
Baker - Review - Olson - What Are We? |
Biological View |
Brain State Transfer, 2 |
Brain Transplants |
Computers, 2, 3 |
Disembodied Existence, 2 |
First-Person Perspective |
Functionalism |
Immortality, 2 |
Information |
Johnston - Human Beings |
Non-Human Persons |
PID Note, Book & Paper Usage, 2, 3, 4 |
Psychology |
Status: Philosophy of Religion (2023 - June) |
Thesis - Chapter 01 (Introduction), 2, 3 |
Thesis - Chapter 02 (What are We?), 2 |
Thesis - Chapter 03 (What is a Person?) |
Thesis - Chapter 06 (Animalism and Arguments for It) |
Thesis - Chapter 07 (The Constitution View and Arguments for It) |
Thesis - Chapter 10 (Thought Experiments), 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11 |
Thesis - Chapter 11 (Resurrection), 2, 3, 4 |
Thesis - Current Stance, 2 |
Transhumanism, 2 |
Website Generator Documentation - Functors, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6 |
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To access information, click on one of the links in the table above.
Authors, Books & Papers Citing this Note
Author |
Title |
Medium |
Extra Links |
Read? |
Agar (Nicholas) |
Whereto Transhumanism?: The Literature Reaches a Critical Mass |
Paper  |
|
|
Baker (Lynne Rudder) |
Review of 'What Are We? A Study in Personal Ontology' by Eric T. Olson |
Paper  |
|
Yes |
Ball (Philip) |
How to Grow a Human: Reprogramming Cells and Redesigning Life |
Book  |
|
Yes |
Cerullo (Michael A.) |
Uploading and Branching Identity |
Paper  |
2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13 |
|
Chalmers (David) |
The Singularity: A philosophical analysis |
Paper  |
2, 3, 4 |
|
Clark (Andy) & Kuhn (Robert Lawrence) |
Aeon: Video - Andy Clark - Virtual immortality |
Paper  |
2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17 |
Yes |
Dainton (Barry) |
Self: Philosophy In Transit |
Book  |
|
|
Dainton (Barry) |
Self: Philosophy In Transit: Prologue |
Paper  |
2 |
Yes |
Graziano (Michael) |
Endless fun |
Paper  |
2, 3, 4, 5 |
Yes |
Grossman (Lev), Kurzweil (Ray) |
2045: The Year Man Becomes Immortal |
Paper  |
|
Yes |
Hanson (Robin) |
The Age of Em: Work, Love, and Life when Robots Rule the Earth |
Book  |
2, 3, 4 |
|
Hawthorne (John X.) |
Are You Ready For The Cyborg Technology Coming In 2021? |
Paper  |
2, 3, 4, 5 |
Yes |
Heyes (Cecilia M.) |
Cognitive Gadgets: The Cultural Evolution of Thinking |
Book  |
|
Yes |
Johnston (Mark) |
Human Beings |
Paper  |
|
Yes |
Kaku (Michio) |
The Future of the Mind: The Scientific Quest To Understand, Enhance and Empower the Mind |
Book  |
2 |
Yes |
Koene (Randal A.) |
Uploading to Substrate-Independent Minds |
Paper  |
|
|
Merkle (Ralph C.) |
Uploading |
Paper  |
2, 3, 4 |
|
Moore (Adrian W.) |
Is the quest for immortality worse than death? |
Paper  |
|
Yes |
O'Connell (Mark) |
To be a Machine |
Book  |
2 |
Yes |
Papineau (David) |
Introducing Consciousness |
Paper  |
|
Yes |
Prisco (Giulio) |
Transcendent Engineering |
Paper  |
|
|
Seung (Sebastian) |
Connectome: How the Brain's Wiring Makes Us Who We Are |
Book  |
|
|
Shoemaker (David) |
Personal Identity and Immortality |
Paper  |
2, 3 |
Yes |
Smith (Barry C.), Broks (Paul), Kennedy (A.L.) & Evans (Jules) |
Audio: What Does It Mean to Be Me? |
Paper  |
|
Yes |
Tegmark (Max) |
Life 3.0: Being Human in the Age of Artificial Intelligence |
Book  |
2, 3 |
Yes |
Todman (Theo) |
Thesis - Biological View |
Paper  |
|
Yes |
Todman (Theo) |
Thesis - Brain State Transfer |
Paper  |
2 |
Yes |
Todman (Theo) |
Thesis - Brain Transplants |
Paper  |
|
Yes |
Todman (Theo) |
Thesis - Chapter 01 (Introduction) |
Paper  |
2, 3 |
Yes |
Todman (Theo) |
Thesis - Chapter 02 (What Are We?) |
Paper  |
2 |
Yes |
Todman (Theo) |
Thesis - Chapter 03 (What is a Person?) |
Paper  |
|
Yes |
Todman (Theo) |
Thesis - Chapter 06 (Animalism and Arguments for It) |
Paper  |
|
Yes |
Todman (Theo) |
Thesis - Chapter 07 (The Constitution View and Arguments for It) |
Paper  |
|
Yes |
Todman (Theo) |
Thesis - Chapter 10 (Thought Experiments) |
Paper  |
2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11 |
Yes |
Todman (Theo) |
Thesis - Chapter 11 (Resurrection) |
Paper  |
2, 3, 4 |
Yes |
Todman (Theo) |
Thesis - Computers |
Paper  |
2, 3 |
Yes |
Todman (Theo) |
Thesis - Current Position |
Paper  |
2 |
Yes |
Todman (Theo) |
Thesis - Disembodied Existence |
Paper  |
2 |
Yes |
Todman (Theo) |
Thesis - First-Person Perspective |
Paper  |
|
Yes |
Todman (Theo) |
Thesis - Functionalism |
Paper  |
|
Yes |
Todman (Theo) |
Thesis - Immortality |
Paper  |
2 |
Yes |
Todman (Theo) |
Thesis - Information |
Paper  |
|
Yes |
Todman (Theo) |
Thesis - Non-Human Persons |
Paper  |
|
Yes |
Todman (Theo) |
Thesis - Psychology |
Paper  |
|
Yes |
Todman (Theo) |
Thesis - Transhumanism |
Paper  |
2 |
Yes |
References & Reading List
Author |
Title |
Medium |
Source |
Read? |
Agar (Nicholas) |
Whereto Transhumanism?: The Literature Reaches a Critical Mass |
Paper - Cited  |
The Hastings Center Report, Vol. 37, No. 3 (May - Jun., 2007), pp. 12-17 |
33% |
Baker (Lynne Rudder) |
Review of 'What Are We? A Study in Personal Ontology' by Eric T. Olson |
Paper - Referencing |
Mind, 117:1120-1122, 2008 |
Yes |
Cerullo (Michael A.) |
Uploading and Branching Identity |
Paper - Referencing  |
Minds & Machines (2015) 25:17–36 |
78% |
Clark (Andy) & Kuhn (Robert Lawrence) |
Aeon: Video - Andy Clark - Virtual immortality |
Paper - Cited  |
Aeon, 19 August, 2019 |
Yes |
Dainton (Barry) |
Self: Philosophy In Transit |
Book - Referencing (via Paper Referencing)  |
Bibliographical details to be supplied |
7% |
Dainton (Barry) |
Self: Philosophy In Transit: Prologue |
Paper - Referencing  |
Dainton (Barry) - Self: Philosophy In Transit, Prologue |
Yes |
Epstein (Robert) |
The empty brain |
Paper - Cited  |
Aeon, 18 May, 2016 |
Yes |
Graziano (Michael) |
Endless fun |
Paper - Cited  |
Aeon, 18 December, 2013 |
Yes |
Grossman (Lev), Kurzweil (Ray) |
2045: The Year Man Becomes Immortal |
Paper - Referencing |
Time Magazine, February 21, 2011 |
Yes |
Hains (Brigid) & Hains (Paul) |
Aeon: C-F |
Book - Cited (via Paper Cited)  |
Bibliographical details to be supplied |
51% |
Hains (Brigid) & Hains (Paul) |
Aeon: G-K |
Book - Cited (via Paper Cited)  |
Bibliographical details to be supplied |
31% |
Heyes (Cecilia M.) |
Cognitive Gadgets: The Cultural Evolution of Thinking |
Book - Cited  |
Heyes (Cecilia M.) - Cognitive Gadgets: The Cultural Evolution of Thinking |
Yes |
Johnston (Mark) |
Human Beings |
Paper - Referencing  |
Journal of Philosophy, Volume 84, Issue 2 (Feb 1987), 59-83 |
Yes |
Merkle (Ralph C.) |
Uploading |
Paper - Referencing  |
More & Vita-More - The Transhumanist Reader, Part III - Chapter 15 |
No |
Miller (Kenneth D.) |
Will You Ever Be Able to Upload Your Brain? |
Paper - Cited  |
NY Times, 11th October 2015 |
Yes |
More (Max) & Vita-More (Natasha) |
The Transhumanist Reader |
Book - Referencing (via Paper Referencing)  |
Bibliographical details to be supplied |
6% |
Papineau (David) |
Introducing Consciousness |
Book - Referencing (via Paper Referencing)  |
Bibliographical details to be supplied |
Yes |
Papineau (David) |
Introducing Consciousness |
Paper - Referencing  |
Papineau - Introducing Consciousness |
Yes |
Todman (Theo) |
Thesis - Biological View |
Paper - Referencing  |
|
Yes |
Todman (Theo) |
Thesis - Chapter 06 (Animalism and Arguments for It) |
Paper - Referencing |
|
Yes |
Text Colour Conventions
- Blue: Text by me; © Theo Todman, 2023