Hypothetical Reincarnation Poll

[vhawk01]

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Well, something must be carried over, or it's not reincarnation, right?

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This is where I royally fudged up in the wording of my post; I don't want you to assume anything beyond your personal beliefs on the subject. Specifically, if I believe that a newborn baby anywhere in the world already has something more, in an ethereal sense, than its basic anatomical structures, then I would answer the question a certain way. And if I simply believe that a baby is born with a blank slate - a tiny, precious bag of organs, but really not much else, at the mercy of its immediate and global environment to be forever imprinted with those specific values, beliefs, intelligence, meaning, etc., then I would probably answer the question in a different way.

As I stated before, I should have been more explicit, but because I wasn't so careful, I am essentially beginning to mold my beliefs on the matter of the eternity of soul and the like. And that is partially why I posited the questions. Another reason, not to be treated as mutually exclusive if possible, is whether you would have that desire to live again, in a random environment on this planet or another, just as random as you, in my current opinion, are now.

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Those aren't my only two choices, though. A random baby isn't born as a blank slate, ready to be imprinted with its culture and experiences. A baby is an animal with a brain that is already wired up in a human fashion, and it is this wiring that allows it to properly process its experiences and culture.

But that doesn't make it me. I think you are implying some sort of soul or essence or something that would make a baby me in some ethereal sense. Thats fine if you really think thats legitimate, and I understand thats sort of the point of your question. But to me, the only thing that makes 'me
' me is the continuity of my experiences, and more specifically, my memory. My body doesn't make me me, my mind doesn't, and I don't think I have a soul. The only part I would need to keep is my memory, and you've eliminated that in the OP. So, like I said, flip a coin, it doesn't matter to 'whatever random baby is going to be born that I don't consider me.'

[Tablerat]

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And really that, to me at least, is the only point that matters. If thats the case, then the answer is an obvious yes, if that isn't the case, the answer is an obvious 'sure, who cares either way?'

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So, I'm trying to have you make the case, based on your beliefs you currently hold, not on some assumption that you think I am making. Again, sorry for the roundabout method, as I'm a true novice at this, but maybe we can get past my bumbling choice of words.

[vhawk01]

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And really that, to me at least, is the only point that matters. If thats the case, then the answer is an obvious yes, if that isn't the case, the answer is an obvious 'sure, who cares either way?'

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So, I'm trying to have you make the case, based on your beliefs you currently hold, not on some assumption that you think I am making. Again, sorry for the roundabout method, as I'm a true novice at this, but maybe we can get past my bumbling choice of words.

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Your choice of words was fine. The way you worded it, I would honestly not care either way. If you are asking me "under which conditions would you take a vested interest in the outcome," the answer is that I would need a continuity of my experience to carry over. Under those circumstances, I would be willing to take my chances being born as a random human, and also as a random sentient being in the universe.

[Tablerat]

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Those aren't my only two choices, though.

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Or anywhere in between. I was just giving two polar examples. I'm not setting limits beyond the basics of my question, which is at the heart of my dilemma.

I think you are making my point for me, but I'm not dialectically sound enough to clarify my position yet. That's my point, I don't want assumptions beyond yours, whatever they may be, in answering these questions. Don't worry about what I think. I was hoping to be inspired or deflated by the words of others, including you, who may post.

[Tablerat]

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I would need a continuity of my experience to carry over.

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Perfect. This is really striking a chord with my line of questioning. OK, can you elaborate what this means to you? You say you would need this continuity; in my question, there is no mentioning of that guarantee - how do you proceed?

[vhawk01]

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I would need a continuity of my experience to carry over.

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Perfect. This is really striking a chord with my line of questioning. OK, can you elaborate what this means to you? You say you would need this continuity; in my question, there is no mentioning of that guarantee - how do you proceed?

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There is no mention of the guarantee, but you seemed to explicitly forbid it. If its just a possibility, it makes the choice +EV, and I would choose to be reincarnated in either situation. I can't really imagine how reincarnation is going to be -EV in any of these scenarios.

[madnak]

Right. I like "yes" better than "no" anyhow.