https://www.wikipedia.org/wiki/Teletransportation_paradox Teletransportation paradox From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia Jump to navigation Jump to search thought experiment on the philosophy of identity This article includes a list of general references, but it remains largely unverified because it lacks sufficient [40px] corresponding inline citations. Please help to improve this article by introducing more precise citations. (February 2015) (Learn how and when to remove this template message) The teletransportation paradox or teletransport paradox (also known in alternative forms as the duplicates paradox) is a thought experiment on the philosophy of identity that challenges common intuitions on the nature of self and consciousness. It first appeared under this name in full published form presumably in Derek Parfit's 1984 book Reasons and Persons. The Polish science-fiction writer Stanislaw Lem described the same problem in the mid-twentieth century. He put it in writing in his philosophical text "Dialogs", 1957. Similarly, in Lem's Star Diaries ("Fourteenth Voyage") of 1957 the hero visits a planet and he 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. I would be glad to know your Lordship's opinion whether when my brain has lost its original structure, and when some hundred years after the same materials are fabricated so curiously as to become an intelligent being, whether, I say that being will be me; or, if, two or three such beings should be formed out of my brain; whether they will all be me, and consequently one and the same intelligent being. -- Thomas Reid letter to Lord Kames, 1775^[1] [ ] Contents * 1 Derek Parfit's version * 2 See also * 3 References * 4 External links Derek Parfit's version[edit] This section does not cite any sources. Please help improve [50px-Q] this section by adding citations to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. (August 2021) (Learn how and when to remove this template message) In Divided Minds and the Nature of Persons (1987), Parfit asks the reader to imagine entering a "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 a method of travel--is the person on Mars the same person as the person who entered the teletransporter on Earth? Certainly, when waking up on Mars, you would feel like being you, you would remember entering the teletransporter in order to travel to Mars, you would even feel the cut on your upper lip from shaving this morning. 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 Buddhism^[dubious - discuss], 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. See also[edit] * Anatta, the Buddhist doctrine of the non-existence of the self * Ship of Theseus^[2] * The Prestige (2006 film) * Moon (2009 film) * Oblivion (2013 film) * To Be (1990 film) * Stream of consciousness (psychology) * Think Like a Dinosaur (The Outer Limits) * Transporter (Star Trek) References[edit] 1. ^ Reid, T. and Hamilton, W. and Stewart, D. (1846). The Works of Thomas Reid, D.D.: Now Fully Collected, with Selections from His Unpublished Letters. Maclachlan and Stewart. p. 52.CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link) 2. ^ "Doctor Who Heaven Sent: your questions answered and that tricksy plot explained". RadioTimes. Retrieved 28 November 2015. External links[edit] * The Identity of Theseus: Ship and Man - The Oculus: The Virginia Journal of Undergraduate Research, Spring 2012, Volume 11 Issue 1, page 60 * The Duplicates Paradox (The Duplicates Problem) - Ben Best * Downloading Consciousness - Jordan Inafuku, Katie Lampert, Brad Lawson, Shaun Stehly, Alex Vaccaro * The Trouble with Transporters - CGP Grey * Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title= Teletransportation_paradox&oldid=1038133116" Categories: * Paradoxes * Teleportation * Thought experiments * Thought experiments in philosophy * Cloning Hidden categories: * CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list * Articles with short description * Short description is different from Wikidata * Use dmy dates from January 2016 * Articles lacking in-text citations from February 2015 * All articles lacking in-text citations * Articles needing additional references from August 2021 * All articles needing additional references * All accuracy disputes * Articles with disputed statements from March 2016 Navigation menu Personal tools * Not logged in * Talk * Contributions * Create account * Log in Namespaces * Article * Talk [ ] Variants Views * Read * Edit * View history [ ] More Search [ ] [Search] [Go] Navigation * Main page * Contents * Current events * Random article * About Wikipedia * Contact us * Donate Contribute * Help * Learn to edit * Community portal * Recent changes * Upload file Tools * What links here * Related changes * Upload file * Special pages * Permanent link * Page information * Cite this page * Wikidata item Print/export * Download as PDF * Printable version Languages * Russkii * Ukrayins'ka Edit links * This page was last edited on 10 August 2021, at 18:27 (UTC). * Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License ; additional terms may apply. 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