5 ms·

I've tried to grapple with questions like this by imagining having woken up with total amnesia. Without any memories or understanding of who I am, or what I've

I've tried to grapple with questions like this by imagining having woken up with total amnesia. Without any memories or understanding of who I am, or what I've done, I would have absolutely no connection to the person I am today, I would be a stranger to myself. Yet, there's still a sense in which "my" consciousness has persisted, in theory, as "I" would still be seeing through my own eyes. I'm not sure how to fully reconcile this except to give up and say that full amnesia is as good as having died and "someone else" is now inhabiting my body, but that doesn't seem quite right. Continuity of experience is part of what seems to make "my" consciousness mine.

candiddevmike 4y ago
You assume that YOU were the one who lived yesterday, when it could very well be some other consciousness that ended when you fell asleep and you're rev $(days_since_birth).
- pixl97 4y ago
  I have a feeling that any moment p-zombies are going brought into this conversation. Doh, I brought p-zombies into this conversation.
  - pksebben 4y ago
    had to look it up. it's kind of interesting. like someone took solipsism and turned it inside out.
tshaddox 4y ago
Another clearly relevant thought experiment is if your entire consciousness could be duplicated. For a fascinating (and horrifying) take on this: https://qntm.org/mmacevedo https://qntm.org/mmacevedo
- pksebben 4y ago
  thanks for sharing, this was great. I even tried to click on the "further reading" links at the bottom
pksebben 4y ago
Isn't there continuity there? you're in the same body, which has to have some bearing on a consciousness. for example, my knees are shot. part of being me is having to put up with that, which causes a sort of pattern in my experience. were I to get amnesia, those patterns would persist.