5 ms·

If this is the case, then we have an intersting problem. Epigenetics change, DNA - due to mutations can differ from cell to cell, people get injected with compl

If this is the case, then we have an intersting problem. Epigenetics change, DNA - due to mutations can differ from cell to cell, people get injected with completely different DNA in the case of organ transplant. New neural pathways are created. Cells in the body are changed constantly. Memories are changed. Things like height, weight, personality traits, name, disorders, spatial location etc. can all be changed as well. So, this raises the question of whether someone can seriously say: "I did something 15 years ago" - when many of the things that make up the human have been changed plus the person saying it is most likely making up a story about past(confabulation). What do you think?

Retric 10y ago
All cells do this. It's much closer to RAM than ROM. Also, memory's are structural and much larger features than this stuff.
cyorir 10y ago
int a = 0; a = 1; Same variable, but the value stored changes over time. Consider the human body to be like a variable. The value stored changes over time. When we use "I" in the present, we are talking about the "value" stored in our body in the present. When we use "I" in the past, we are talking about the value that was stored at a different time. That is how we can refer to systems that change over time using the same identifier - by treating them the same way we treat variables.
- deleted 10y ago
  [deleted]
mac01021 10y ago
“No man ever steps in the same river twice, for it's not the same river and he's not the same man.” -Heraclitus (supposedly)
gnaritas 10y ago
> So, this raises the question of whether someone can seriously say: "I did something 15 years ago" Only if you define "I" as something that doesn't match reality, just because people change doesn't mean they aren't still themselves. "I" doesn't refer to some ethereal unchanging thing, it merely refers to the self which is ever changing.
- godembodied 10y ago
  [removed]
  - gnaritas 10y ago
    Questions already well explored by philosophy; nothing in the article raises any new questions about the nature of self.
    - deleted 10y ago
      [deleted]
- visarga 10y ago
  I think the self is "renewed" or "reconstructed" every moment. Life is a chain of these self-moments. There is nothing linking these self-moments other than shared past experience. No "personality" essence is preserved. Personality emerges every moment anew, based on the current factors, just like consciousness and other mental processes. We don't live for 80 years, we live for a few moments, but a chain of Self instances exists for 80 or so years. We die constantly throughout our lives. I see the self like the emergence of a car wave on the highway. The wave appears spontaneously when the highway is crowded. It can disappear on its own when the density decreases a little. It exists moment by moment as a result of emerging processes and underlying conditions. It is in a constant state of flux. A great part of it is dependent on the external conditions, not just the cars. Similarly, external factors are also part of the momentary self. The self is not separated from the external world, but the world plays a part in it. It selects the momentary self from a complex space of possible personalities. Basically, we are the resultant of the stream of experiences and conditions that existed around us all our life. We know that also from artificial neural networks, which are built by distilling their experiences.
hinkley 10y ago
Congratulations! You're our lucky winner! You are the 1 millionth person to rediscover Eastern Philosophy! You have won a 20% off coupon from Bed, Bath & Beyond and a Deluxe Edition of our home game! Just send us a Self Addressed, Stamped Envelope to: Eastern Sweepstakes PO Box 102436 Pueblo, CO 81009

Retric 10y ago

All cells do this. It's much closer to RAM than ROM. Also, memory's are structural and much larger features than this stuff.

cyorir 10y ago

int a = 0; a = 1; Same variable, but the value stored changes over time. Consider the human body to be like a variable. The value stored changes over time. When we use "I" in the present, we are talking about the "value" stored in our body in the present. When we use "I" in the past, we are talking about the value that was stored at a different time. That is how we can refer to systems that change over time using the same identifier - by treating them the same way we treat variables.

deleted 10y ago
[deleted]

mac01021 10y ago

“No man ever steps in the same river twice, for it's not the same river and he's not the same man.” -Heraclitus (supposedly)

gnaritas 10y ago

> So, this raises the question of whether someone can seriously say: "I did something 15 years ago" Only if you define "I" as something that doesn't match reality, just because people change doesn't mean they aren't still themselves. "I" doesn't refer to some ethereal unchanging thing, it merely refers to the self which is ever changing.

godembodied 10y ago
[removed]
- gnaritas 10y ago
  Questions already well explored by philosophy; nothing in the article raises any new questions about the nature of self.
  - deleted 10y ago
    [deleted]
visarga 10y ago
I think the self is "renewed" or "reconstructed" every moment. Life is a chain of these self-moments. There is nothing linking these self-moments other than shared past experience. No "personality" essence is preserved. Personality emerges every moment anew, based on the current factors, just like consciousness and other mental processes. We don't live for 80 years, we live for a few moments, but a chain of Self instances exists for 80 or so years. We die constantly throughout our lives. I see the self like the emergence of a car wave on the highway. The wave appears spontaneously when the highway is crowded. It can disappear on its own when the density decreases a little. It exists moment by moment as a result of emerging processes and underlying conditions. It is in a constant state of flux. A great part of it is dependent on the external conditions, not just the cars. Similarly, external factors are also part of the momentary self. The self is not separated from the external world, but the world plays a part in it. It selects the momentary self from a complex space of possible personalities. Basically, we are the resultant of the stream of experiences and conditions that existed around us all our life. We know that also from artificial neural networks, which are built by distilling their experiences.

hinkley 10y ago

Congratulations! You're our lucky winner! You are the 1 millionth person to rediscover Eastern Philosophy! You have won a 20% off coupon from Bed, Bath & Beyond and a Deluxe Edition of our home game! Just send us a Self Addressed, Stamped Envelope to: Eastern Sweepstakes PO Box 102436 Pueblo, CO 81009