by TheVoice » Wed Dec 28, 2005 6:36 pm
First of all, here's to hoping Harry steps back in at some point, as that would make this discussion much more lively.
I would like to conjecture that "consciousness" or a "soul" is merely a justification that the mind has come up with for the purposes of rationalization and self-preservation. I don't think it's fair to suppose that it exists, when there is no proof that it does. It seems to be on par with religion, in my view. We feel that something has to be true, so we make up something to explain it.
I will try to keep this short, but I will explain further. If you were living your life, then suddenly moved to Spain, you would turn out differently than if you had stayed in your hometown. For all intents and purposes, these are two versions of you. They are both, in fact, you.
Let's take this to a quantum level. Basic quantum mechanics state that particles do exist in multiple places at the same time. They are, in fact, the same particle. They are exactly the same, and they exist in multiple places at once. I repeat, they are one particle. I see no reason why clumping together a bunch of particles in a specific order so that they cooperate as one unit, such as a human, would suddenly cause a magical, mystical "soul" to appear. I have yet to see any reason why it would exist, or even what it is. Every argument that I have seen that presupposes the existence of a "soul" basically states "but I don't want to die". I proffer that if you exist simultaneously in two places, then shut one off, you never died.
If you were magically transported to being a digital version of yourself, or if a digital copy was made that was activated at the exact moment flesh you died, it would have the same result. You have moved. Perhaps somewhere more exotic than Spain, but you have moved all the same. Whether you slowly transfer data and kill off the flesh version just as slowly or if you make a copy and kill the original all at once is purely semantic, and makes no difference. You, in your entirely, including every little particle, string, and everything else you can possibly imagine, existed in one place, then existed in two, then existed in one. You have moved.
Occam's Razor merely states that the simplest answer is the correct one. This would imply that a mystical "soul" is unnecessarily clogging up the works. If you remove this variable, of which there is no proof that it exists, suddenly everything fits together.