Identity dilemma

[Reinaislost]

Scenario:

You have been kidnapped by a mad scientist who also has one other person captive. The scientist informs you two that they will transplant everything in your mind to the other captive and everything in the other captive's mind to you. This comprises everything that makes you who you are, such as your personality, beliefs, experiences, memories, and values. For you, it'll be like if you have truly swapped bodies, but it is only the mental content that is actually going to be changed.

Before beginning the experiment, the crazy scientist gives you a choice: you may either ask him to pay a million dollars to the other captive, who will receive your personality and memories, or to the current you, who will get their personality and memories after the experiment.

Whichever person you choose to receive the money will be released, while the other person will be subjected to more torture and experimentation. Note that the thought experiment assumes that you'll choose self preservation!

 

[RepresentingEnvy]

Scenario:

You have been kidnapped by a mad scientist who also has one other person captive. The scientist informs you that they will transmit everything in your mind to one of the captives and everything in the other captive's mind to you. This comprises everything that makes you who you are, such as your personality, beliefs, memories, and values.

Before beginning the experiment, the crazy scientist gives you a choice: you may either ask him to pay a million dollars to the other captive, who will receive your personality and memories, or to the current you, who will keep their personality and memories.

Whichever person you choose to receive the money will be released, while the other person will be subjected to torture and experimentation.

Does the torture begin before or after I have given my memories?

 

[Reinaislost]

Does the torture begin before or after I have given my memories?

After.

 

[RepresentingEnvy]

After.

I will give my personality and memories to the other person.

 

[Generic.Archdemon]

Refuse to answer.

 

[RepresentingEnvy]

Refuse to answer.

A true neutral

 

[Sola-sama]

Piss on the other captive to establish dominance. Then, I will kill him before killing myself.

Can't let the mad scientist win because I hate losing.

 

[RepresentingEnvy]

I will give my personality and memories to the other person.

If my memories, personality and experiences make me "me". Then, by giving them up I will live on. The only thing that will be tortured is my shell; however, it would suck for the other person to get my memories. Either way we both get tortured.

 

[Rhaps]

If there is money involve, gimme gimme

 

[Reinaislost]

If there is money involve, gimme gimme

Which 'you'?

 

[Rhaps]

Which 'you'?

Does it really matter?

 

[Reinaislost]

Does it really matter?

Maybe not so much when it comes to practical life, but the thought experiment demonstrates which one of them you think makes up the 'you': the body or the mind.

 

[Woolen_Bat_Monkey]

Only if the other captive is a monkey.

 

[MilkAndSausage]

I really don't understand the scenario. If I receive the money, I receive the memory, and I will be released? But will my memory be transplanted in the other person still? Or I will retain my previous memory with the new one

 

[Woolen_Bat_Monkey]

Could you ever really get rid of everything? Like would there be times when I would try to pick up poo and throw it even though I have the personality and memory of a civilized man now?

 

[Reinaislost]

I really don't understand the scenario. If I receive the money, I receive the memory, and I will be released? But will my memory be transplanted in the other person still? Or I will retain my previous memory with the new one

You will only retain the other person's memory, and the other person will be experimented on with your memory. Sorry, I should have been more clear with words.

 

[georgelee5786]

Other captive

 

[Woolen_Bat_Monkey]

Now let's think about this. If you believe in souls then you can say you're still the same person inside. But if not then you technically just switched places with the other captive. So the final answer is to give him the money. Now the real question is how are you going to deal with the outside world with the new body. You don't know what the other guy did with it. Was he a death row inmate or does he have a huge amount of debt? Mabey he has a wife. What if you had a wife, how are you going to explain that it's you?

 

[Deleted member 113259]

Current me, might as well go out in an act of charity. I don't believe I'd be able to live with myself otherwise.

Edit: Upon rereading. I'm going full nihilism. It doesn't matter. If you don't remember anything before swapping bodies then you won't remember whether you chose greed or morality, you will either find yourself as a test subject with no memory a to why or you will find yourself rich with no memory as to why. There's also the fact that in either scenario you seize to exist. If your memories are now in conflict with your soul in either body then both the rich guy and the tortured guy aren't you.

 

[Reinaislost]

Now let's think about this. If you believe in souls then you can say you're still the same person inside. But if not then you technically just switched places with the other captive. So the final answer is to give him the money. Now the real question is how are you going to deal with the outside world with the new body. You don't know what the other guy did with it. Was he a death row inmate or does he have a huge amount of debt? Mabey he has a wife. What if you had a wife, how are you going to explain that it's you?

That was one of my intentions. The soul part, I mean.