Help me out here.
Who am I? Who are you? Do we know? Can we know? Better question -- What are we. Are we nothing more than brain and body, or is there more? Does the physicalness of the brain matter? Can a different brain that is exactly similar to ours contain our same identity? Is it possible for there to be more than one me? What is it that encompasses that very thing that is me?
Let's say for instance that it is possible to make an exact replica of my brain and put it back into my own body. If I know that that will happen in 3 hours, am I justified in anticipating what will happen after that moment? Should I be afraid of the pain I'll feel when I wake up? Should I be excited for the first things I do with my brain in tact? If it is in fact a new brain, that is just like mine, would it simply think that it is me, or is that actually what I am? Am I simply a collection of my memories and feelings and thoughts, or does the physical being that is my brain have a part in this? Does a brain that is an exact replica have my past experiences, or does it only remember these past experiences? Did they happen to a different identity? Would it be possible to survive such a surgery if survival meant keeping the same identity as well as my body living on?
I'm fairly unsure at this point, but I think it's different.
Let's say for instance that it is possible to make an exact replica of my brain and put it back into my own body. If I know that that will happen in 3 hours, am I justified in anticipating what will happen after that moment? Should I be afraid of the pain I'll feel when I wake up? Should I be excited for the first things I do with my brain in tact? If it is in fact a new brain, that is just like mine, would it simply think that it is me, or is that actually what I am? Am I simply a collection of my memories and feelings and thoughts, or does the physical being that is my brain have a part in this? Does a brain that is an exact replica have my past experiences, or does it only remember these past experiences? Did they happen to a different identity? Would it be possible to survive such a surgery if survival meant keeping the same identity as well as my body living on?
I'm fairly unsure at this point, but I think it's different.