| If identical twins are two difrefent entities, then a single human is multiple entities over their lifetime. The fact that identical twins are two difrefent entities is fairly self-evident. I don't know about the counterintuitive conclusion you draw from that, but I would say that if my future self time-traveled here, and it was possible for me to die without creating a time paradox, I still wouldn't want to.People with even very severe traumatic brain damage don’t lose their sense of self-identity even though their brains have been massively reconfigured. Self-identity must be a pretty trivial brain function.You're conflating trivial as in easy with trivial as in unimportant. Let me assure you that even if self-identity is a trivial brain function, that that doesn't mean it's not important. Having a heartbeat is likely even more trivial, but it is also of utmost importance. Let's assume that it turns out the Many Worlds interpretation of quantum mechanics is right. Should I be more willing to take risks, because even if I am killed in one universe, another me lives on in another? Should I not be sad if an accident kills a loved one because there's another universe where they live?It would be really, really, convenient if every individual em copy didn't become a distinct person with rights every time a new copy was made. But the universe isn't always convenient. |
