An Interview with Douglas R. Hofstadter, following ''I am a Strange Loop''

		Dylan Gillis writes: soul as software This is all very interesting and many great and profound ideas have been expressed. And I have read only part of all the responses. So I apologize ahead of time if I repeat something already brought up. What has occurred to me to add to the discussion is the question: if one's self or soul can be recorded and transferred as a pattern through whatever medium (biological, technological or spiritual), wouldn't it also be able to be ''copied''? That is, I wonder where ''I'' would be if there were more than one copy of the pattern that makes up my ''self'' or ''soul''. Something about that conundrum makes me doubt that true existence of self or soul can actually be done by replication of a pattern, however complex, accurate and fine grained it is. So, like maybe, there is something else involved, like a point of view, or a ''looking from'' that is fundamental to one's being, which cannot be transferred in the manner(s) being discussed. Just saying.
		[803] Posted on Wednesday, 06 November 2013 at 21:59 GMT [Reply to this] [Permalink]