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From: laura@l5.uucp (Laura Creighton)
Newsgroups: net.philosophy
Subject: Re: More Atheistic Wishful Thinking
Message-ID: <121@l5.uucp>
Date: Sun, 15-Sep-85 13:59:23 EDT
Article-I.D.: l5.121
Posted: Sun Sep 15 13:59:23 1985
Date-Received: Tue, 17-Sep-85 05:26:26 EDT
References: <1115@mhuxt.UUCP> <1473@umcp-cs.UUCP> <1648@pyuxd.UUCP> <98@l5.uucp> <1676@pyuxd.UUCP>
Reply-To: laura@l5.UUCP (Laura Creighton)
Organization: Ell-Five [Consultants], San Francisco
Lines: 36

In article <1676@pyuxd.UUCP> rlr@pyuxd.UUCP (Rich Rosen) writes:
>> Rich, there is more than one way to parse ``the mind is separate from the
>> physical brain and body''. One is a belief in the soul that goes to heaven.
>> But there is another. UNIX runs on a great many hardware configurations
>> without it being the case that UNIX can run without a hardware configuration,
>> after all. The question is, can you port the ``mind of laura'' which already
>> runs well on the squishy hardware that is typing this note to something that
>> is a little more durable? [LAURA]
>
>As long as you're using that analogy, may I show how it is incorrect?
>
>Sure, UNIX(*) can run on a great many machines, but UNIX alone is not analogous
>to an individual human mind.  It is more analogous to the common set of
>reflexes and instincts (operating systems) that human minds may share.  Now,
>let's talk about porting a WHOLE system:  any databases that may be attached
>to it, any UUCP connections it may have made use of, specific disk drives, etc.
>NOW, and only now, are you talking about the SAME system being reproduced.
>Otherwise, if you try to run any QUEL queries or cross-system mail functions
>that you used to be able to do, you would bomb out miserably.  So, not only
>must you copy the operating system, but the external ports and other elements
>of the physical configuration as well, in order to function properly as the
>"same" system.

I lost it. I do not know why you think that my mind (whatever that is) cannot
be ported to another body. Clearly Laura and Laura-prime are not going to
be identical and may develop along quite different lines henceforth, but I
don't see why that should concern me. An easier task then porting me to silicon
would be to make a clone of me and then stuff my clone with my memories. I'd
like to deal with that one first -- is there any reason why you think that
this cannot be done in principle? If the answer is no, I want to proceed to
``well then, what is so special about a human body that it cannot be 
simulated somewhere else?''
-- 
Laura Creighton		(note new address!)
sun!l5!laura		(that is ell-five, not fifteen)
l5!laura@lll-crg.arpa


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