Ghosts and Mind Copies - The Identity Question

[Ze'Manel Cunha]

Originally Posted by sir_pudding

What happens when people (as I understand that this Marine was expected to eventually) recover? If is the person whose brain has healed the same as the one that suffered the trauma?

Depends on the personality which emerges, many traumatic brain injuries, even when fully healed, lead to significant personality changes.
In fact, some of the best research on brain function has come as a result of studies of traumatic brain injuries.

[sir_pudding]

Originally Posted by Ze'Manel Cunha

Depends on the personality which emerges, many traumatic brain injuries, even when fully healed, lead to significant personality changes.
In fact, some of the best research on brain function has come as a result of studies of traumatic brain injuries.

That's basically my point. There really isn't that much difference between someone who recovers from a coma and a Ghost in terms of continuity (in specific reference to Brett's post).

[Ze'Manel Cunha]

Originally Posted by sir_pudding

That's basically my point. There really isn't that much difference between someone who recovers from a coma and a Ghost in terms of continuity (in specific reference to Brett's post).

Meaning the original is dead in both situations?

Even starting from the given that you have a copy of a dead person, the new personality in the body is going to be making decisions and impressions based on the same physical chemistry that the original had, whereas the magic TS ghost form, unless put into a clone, is no longer running on the same chemistry and therefore is a complete divergence from the original from that second forward.

[sir_pudding]

Originally Posted by Ze'Manel Cunha

Meaning the original is dead in both situations?

Sure, but we don't treat TBI patients as legally different persons.

[Ze'Manel Cunha]

Originally Posted by sir_pudding

Sure, but we don't treat TBD patients as legally different persons.

Then again, that's because people don't generally voluntarily become TBI disabled.

[sir_pudding]

Originally Posted by Ze'Manel Cunha

Then again, that's because people don't generally voluntarily become TBI disabled.

Someone could die in an accident or of natural causes and be uploaded. Someone could go snowboarding (or volunteer for the military in wartime) and get brain damage. I'm not sure choice is an issue here.

[Ze'Manel Cunha]

Originally Posted by sir_pudding

Someone could die in an accident or of natural causes and be uploaded. Someone could go snowboarding (or volunteer for the military in wartime) and get brain damage. I'm not sure choice is an issue here.

The magic upload is easier for people to point at and say that isn't Joe, whereas people almost feel an obligation to stand by TBI disabled Joe, even though he clearly isn't who he used to be before his accident.

[combatmedic]

Originally Posted by Ze'Manel Cunha

The magic upload is easier for people to point at and say that isn't Joe, whereas people almost feel an obligation to stand by TBI disabled Joe, even though he clearly isn't who he used to be before his accident.

Besides- the soul isn't copied or transferred.

I seriously doubt that all those millenia old religious/spirtual beliefs and traditions will just go 'poof' in THS. These beliefs will affect how people deal with things like 'magic uploads'- including the laws that are made.

[Jürgen Hubert]

Originally Posted by combatmedic

Besides- the soul isn't copied or transferred.

I seriously doubt that all those millenia old religious/spirtual beliefs and traditions will just go 'poof' in THS. These beliefs will affect how people deal with things like 'magic uploads'- including the laws that are made.

Well, for the outside observer as well for the actual ghost there seems to be no real change in personality apart from understandable pychological effects resulting from becoming an infomorph and residing within a shell or computer. This will count for a lot, and will make questions about the soul more awkward.

Especially for largely agnostic/atheist regions such as the European Union - which likely has among the highest percentage of ghosts anyway.

[combatmedic]

Originally Posted by Jürgen Hubert

Well, for the outside observer as well for the actual ghost there seems to be no real change in personality apart from understandable pychological effects resulting from becoming an infomorph and residing within a shell or computer. This will count for a lot, and will make questions about the soul more awkward.

Especially for largely agnostic/atheist regions such as the European Union - which likely has among the highest percentage of ghosts anyway.

I wonder how the various religions and sects deal with 'ghosts.'

For a future Europe, I'd have guessed Muslim dominated, not atheist. Of course, I'm not intimately familiar with THS, so I don't know if the demographic trends have changed radically....