Poll: Exact cloning after death

[Zarkov]

What if I told you through taking a sample of your DNA and brain tissue scientists were able to completely duplicate any human being, exactly the way the person was at the time the sample was taken including all previous experience to that point and physical/mental change. (Obviously you would need more than those two things, but just run with me). So, essentially, you're the exactly the same. The duplicate would act exactly like you. What if I also said that tomorrow you were going to die, but before you died these scientists took these two samples. After you died, they created this clone.

Would you then survive your previous death, or is this duplicate not a continued existence of the version of yourself that died? Would you still be you? Or would the self you know right now be somehow different than the self that was duplicated?

This is perhaps a stupid question, but each time I try to answer this question I find I'm not able to. What do you guys think?

 

[BeeGeenie]

It is not the same person. When you died, your consciousness would stop (or continue spiritually if you're religious) but the clone, even if it had exactly the same memories, would have a different consciousness. No matter how exactly alike they are, they are still two different beings. Identical, but distinct, even with the same thoughts.
You can copy your hard drive onto a new hard drive, and have an exact copy of both the hardware (body) and the software (mind), but it's still a copy. (Though the copy may not be AWARE that it's a copy).

 

[FalloutJack]

I long ago decided that all mes are the same me and that I should always be kind to me if more mes should ever pop up. And because I think in those terms, so will there. I'm sorry if this makes Jack look like Agent Smith, but too bad. I've got the cloning towel and I'll use it how I want to.

 

[aba1]

The second you and your clone have a different experience or memory even if ever so slightly different from each other you will stop being the same person because your experiences will stop being identical. Basically I would still be dead and outside doing it so my family doesn't have to grieve there is no point.

 

[Kae]

It's different, because even though it may look, act and have the same memories as me, my perspective ends when I die, it's not like I transferred myself into it, it's more like someone made a backup copy of me, sure it'll continue doing what I did and keep my same files but my hard drive got burned and now it's no longer operational.

 

[CrimsonBlaze]

I believe that although your clone has your DNA, memories, traits, and skills, they are inherently not you, i.e. your consciousness will not be with them.

If I were to really die the next day, I would allow a clone to continue on my work and instruct him that although he's taking my place, he is not me. That he is an extension of who I was and that he needs to finish what I had started.

Once he has taken care to the tasks that I had left him, he will be free to pursue his own life and undertake his own identity if he so wishes to.

 

[Keoul]

They're more like a twin than a continued existence of myself.
Probably not a good idea, if the scientists keep the fact from it that I'm dead, when it finds out hoo boy it's gunna have a hell of an identity crisis.

 

[Eclipse Dragon]

Not the same person, they have a different perspective than me, thus aren't me.

However, based on your scenario, if I were to die the next day and my clone was an exact copy of me. Wouldn't whatever killed me, also kill my clone the day after? (excluding death by outside influence such as murder.)

 

[Innegativeion]

Based upon my personal beliefs I would not consider the clone to be the same peron.

Inevitably, the clone would discover its origins anyway and deal with an existential crisis I would've never had to deal with, thus deviating his consciousness from mine and distinctifying his individuality for those who could not see it externally before.

 

[Scarim Coral]

Different.
The way I see it while the clone me is exactly like me in all ways but since he's living out the life that I cannot since I've died than he is a different person for I am not there to make the reaction or action as he did.
Before you say but what if the action/ reaction he did would be the same way I reaction/ take action than it is impossible to know since there is no two of me to test that out unless you clone another me to test it.

 

[Canadamus Prime]

As far as everyone else is concerned there would be no difference, but as far as you are concerned, you'd still be dead.

 

[Don Savik]

You see, I don't think any clone would even have the exact same personality as the host. Maybe if they were raised in the exact same environment and went through the exact same experiences as they did, but even then I don't think they would have the exact same thoughts running through my their head as they did at the time. To think they would think the exact same thing is just ridiculous. I don't think that's how the human brain works.

 

[Esotera]

It's just a biological twin, they're going to end up completely different. Also, you would have massive technical issues using DNA from an old person, as they've had a lot more time to accumulate errors in their lifetime, which is why cloned animals have a lot of health problems and a comparatively short lifespan.

The only method of immortality I think would be feasible is producing a clone of yourself every generation, so there's a child, an adult, and a grandparent. You teach your clone everything that you've ever experienced and they have a rough understanding of hundreds of years of one person's life. This is what the leader of government did in Aeon Flux.

 

[Snowbell]

Of course it wouldn't be you, you'd be dead!

Even if it had the exact same brain structure and thought it was you, your personal nuerons will have stopped firing and you wouldn't transfer into the next you. That's silly.

Pah, souls

 

[ReinWeisserRitter]

I don't have an opinion on the concept of souls, afterlife, or anything of the sort, but it's still two different people in my opinion. Just the fact that that person would be a clone would have an affect on their lives that my life didn't have. From the very beginning, we're not the same person, and that's before we even get into the physical end of things.

 

[NiPah]

Hard to say what consciousness really is, in some respects every time you sleep you die and wake up another person. This is the same issue the Matrix had, you can never really know you're you or just a consciousness with false or artificial memories.

Would you define a person by the memories they have? Then who would be the real person if memories could be copied? Would you define a person by their consciousness? Then every time you lose it you'd be dead.

 

[Slayer_2]

It's the experiences that shape a person. Their personality and such affect it, but if my clone grew up in a war-torn country, I'm quite sure they'd be totally different from me.

 

[Nimzabaat]

IMO The problem is that the soul of the first body is gone. So it's no longer that person. It's the same problem with the Star Trek type transporter. You can move the matter around any way you like. If the spirit becomes disconnected you're dead. Science can solve a lot of problems, but until they realize that we're not just meat bags some things will be beyond our reach.

(I was a strong disbeliever in the supernatural until I saw a ghost. It kind of changed my perspective on things. I'm still very much skeptical about any religions or their explanations but when the proof of the spirit is standing in front of you... it kind of opens your mind a bit)

Just sayin

 

[gideonkain]

This was covered in the "Will Riker got cloned" episode of ST:TNG and in that Arnold film "The 6th Day"

Obviously someone who isn't you...isn't you --but their "close enough for government work".

We are all the sum of our experiences, the only thing that would keep my clone from being me is:

A) Knowing they aren't me
and far more important--
B) Others knowing they aren't me.

--If the clone was oblivious they would essentially be close enough to me to make it not matter in the corporeal world.

--If the clone knew they would then become a slightly different person just for knowing, but still could incorporate themselves into my life.

--If the clone knew and others knew they would rapidly become a different person.

The fact that we would consist of different cells means they aren't "Me". In a religious context, they would have their own soul.

 

[Canadamus Prime]

Think of it this way, let's say you have a picture of something and you made a copy of it using a Xerox machine and then shredded the original. The photocopy would not be the same picture, it'd be a copy of the picture, the picture would still be shredded. Depending on the quality of the photocopy, they may be indistinguishable, but they're still not one and the same. Naturally sentient beings are quite different to pieces of paper, but the principle is the same. Your clone would not be you, you would be dead, it'd be a copy of you. An outside observer wouldn't know the difference, but your clone wouldn't be a continuation of your existence, you'd still be dead.