The teletransportation paradox or teletransport paradox (also known in alternative forms as the duplicates paradox) is a

thought experiment A thought experiment is a hypothetical situation in which a hypothesis, theory, or principle is laid out for the purpose of thinking through its consequences. History The ancient Greek ''deiknymi'' (), or thought experiment, "was the most anc ...

on the philosophy of identity that challenges common intuitions on the nature of

self The self is an individual as the object of that individual’s own reflective consciousness. Since the ''self'' is a reference by a subject to the same subject, this reference is necessarily subjective. The sense of having a self—or ''selfhoo ...

and

consciousness Consciousness, at its simplest, is sentience and awareness of internal and external existence. However, the lack of definitions has led to millennia of analyses, explanations and debates by philosophers, theologians, linguisticians, and scien ...

, formulated by Derek Parfit in his 1984, book ''

Reasons and Persons ''Reasons and Persons'' is a 1984 book by the philosopher Derek Parfit, in which the author discusses ethics, rationality and personal identity. It is divided into four parts, dedicated to self-defeating theories, rationality and time, personal ...

.'' The Polish science-fiction writer

Stanisław Lem Stanisław Herman Lem (; 12 September 1921 – 27 March 2006) was a Polish writer of science fiction and essays on various subjects, including philosophy, futurology, and literary criticism. Many of his science fiction stories are of satirical ...

described the same problem in the mid-twentieth century. He put it in writing in his philosophical text "'' Dialogs''", in 1957. Similarly, in Lem's ''

Star Diaries , image = File:TheStarDiaries.jpg , caption = First edition , author = Stanisław Lem , translator = ''English:'' Michael Kandel , illustrator = Stanisław Lem , cover_artist = Marian Stachurski , country = Poland , language = Polish, Engli ...

'' ("Fourteenth Voyage") of 1957, the hero visits a planet and finds himself recreated from a backup record, after his death from a meteorite strike, which on this planet is a very commonplace procedure. Similar questions of identity have been raised as early as 1775.

Derek Parfit's version

Derek Parfit and others consider a hypothetical "teletransporter", a machine that puts you to sleep, records your molecular composition, breaking you down into atoms, and relaying it to Mars at the speed of light. On Mars, another machine re-creates you (from local stores of carbon, hydrogen, and so on), each atom in exactly the same relative position. Parfit poses the question of whether or not the teletransporter is actually a method of travel, or if it simply kills and makes an exact replica of the user.https://rintintin.colorado.edu/~vancecd/phil375/Parfit.pdf Then the teleporter is upgraded. The teletransporter on Earth is modified to not destroy the person who enters it, but instead it can simply make infinite replicas, all of whom would claim to remember entering the teletransporter on Earth in the first place. Using thought experiments such as these, Parfit argues that any criteria we attempt to use to determine sameness of person will be lacking, because there is no further fact. What matters, to Parfit, is simply "Relation R", psychological connectedness, including memory, personality, and so on. Parfit continues this logic to establish a new context for morality and social control. He cites that it is morally wrong for one person to harm or interfere with another person and it is incumbent on society to protect individuals from such transgressions. That accepted, it is a short extrapolation to conclude that it is also incumbent on society to protect an individual's "Future Self" from such transgressions; tobacco use could be classified as an abuse of a Future Self's right to a healthy existence. Parfit resolves the logic to reach this conclusion, which appears to justify incursion into personal freedoms, but he does not explicitly endorse such invasive control. Parfit's conclusion is similar to David Hume's view and also to the view of the self in some forms of

Buddhism Buddhism ( , ), also known as Buddha Dharma and Dharmavinaya (), is an Indian religions, Indian religion or Indian philosophy#Buddhist philosophy, philosophical tradition based on Pre-sectarian Buddhism, teachings attributed to the Buddha. ...

, though it does not restrict itself to a mere reformulation of them. For besides being ''reductive'', Parfit's view is also ''deflationary'': in the end, "what matters" is not personal identity, but rather mental continuity and connectedness.

References

Sources

* * {{cite encyclopedia, title=Divided Minds and the Nature of Persons, first=Derek , last=Parfit, date=1987 , editor-last1=Blakemore , editor-first1=Colin , editor-last2=Greenfield , editor-first2=Susan A. , work=Mindwaves , publisher=Blackwell , pages=19–26 , url=https://rintintin.colorado.edu/~vancecd/phil375/Parfit.pdf, doi=10.1002/9781118922590.ch8, isbn=9781118922590

External links

The Identity of Theseus: Ship and Man – The Oculus: The Virginia Journal of Undergraduate Research, Spring 2012, Volume 11 Issue 1, page 60

* ttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nQHBAdShgYI The Trouble with Transporters – CGP Grey Paradoxes Teleportation Thought experiments Thought experiments in philosophy Cloning

Derek Parfit's version

See also

References

Sources

External links