X-Message-Number: 9122
Date: Fri, 06 Feb 1998 08:14:04 -0800
From: Rand Simberg <>
Subject: Value of Amnesiac's Life

Bob Ettinger wrote:

>Paul seems to suggest that life for an amnesiac would not be worth living.
>I don't recall any statistics about amnesiacs being overwhelmingly
>suicidal--even if we were to agree that the amnesia could not be fixed.

The value of life to the amnesiac is beside the point.  Of course life is
worth living to *him*.  The issue is the value of the life of an amnesiac
who *used* to be me, to *me*. 

I have no more (or less) interest in preserving the life of some
resurrected entity with none of my memories than I do in preserving the
life of any other random individual.  While I certainly have nothing
against him, I'm unlikely to be willing to expend great amounts of *my*
resources to ensure *his* survival.  If he doesn't know who I am, let alone
that he *is* that person, he certainly isn't me...

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