Personal Identity - Body or Mind?

In the film 'Avatar' (soon to be at cinemas) the plot involves a technology which allows human 'drivers' to have their consciousness linked remotely to an avatar, a remotely controlled biological body.

Trailer


A similar theme is explored in another of this years films, 'Surrogates' where 'People are living their lives remotely from the safety of their own homes via robotic surrogates -- sexy, physically perfect mechanical representations of themselves.'

Trailer




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1. How important is the body for our personal identity?
2. What is it of 'us' that is living through these avatars?
3. Is there any reason not to abandon our original bodies entirely and live through more appealing avatars if that were possible?
4. In a way this already happens through virtual online worlds such as Second Life and through the 'version' of yourself you present in online environments. How much does old fashioned bodily interaction matter when the mind can seemingly go much further?

Solipsism

What issues does the film 'The Matrix' raise about our sense of self and knowledge of the world around us?

YouTube Clips;

‘Philosophy and the Matrix – Descartes’ (1 min 42)
‘The Red Pill’ (7 mins 40)

How does Descartes go about doubting the senses and reasoning? What can we be certain of and why?

Resource: Philosophy Pages

What is Solipsism? Why is it particularly difficult to be sure that other people have minds?

Resource: IEP

‘How do I know I’m not alone?’

‘ME, MYSELF & I’
- what makes me ‘me’?
- Could I be ‘me’ all by myself? (i.e. without a language I share with others? Without relationships? Without belonging to a culture that shares beliefs and values?)

Should people with dementia feel an obligation to die?

'People with dementia should be able to end their lives if they feel they are a burden to others or to the NHS, according to a respected ethicist...Baroness Mary Warnock'

'Rebecca Wood, chief executive of the Alzheimer’s Research Trust, strongly criticised the peer's comments.
"Lady Warnock demonstrates a shocking ignorance when espousing her highly insensitive view that people with dementia are 'wasting people’s lives' and may have a 'duty to die. ' [BBC News 19/9/08]

• Are dementia sufferers an unacceptable drain on medical and family resources?


• When, if ever, should a person feel a 'duty to die'?


• Should dementia sufferers be valued differently to other people?


• Should euthanasia be legalised in the UK?