Journal #3 by Huizhong Pan

   In Marcelo Glesier’s article “Is an Identical Copy of You, You?” he argues that he would not be comfortable dying for his copy because there are always errors in science measurements and a perfect copy is impossible.

Do you think an identical copy of yourself would actually be you? 

Based on my cognitive experience of biochemistry, I think people consist of materials and spirits. So if a copy only includes these two characteristics , it then can be an actual copy of you. However, my view is that it is impossible to realize this. 

In my opinion, both characteristics are difficult to copy. Firstly, material characteristics are difficult to copy. Today’s technology is able to create intelligent robots and even imitate human’s faces. A robot can have arms and legs, even smiles, but no matter how lifelike, it is just a machine. But how about cell reproduction? Take a cell from you, then a complete person can be reproduced. Maybe it’s a better copy of you than the robot, and even though it has the same DNA as you, and it has a real body,  it can’t be the one who has been lived in your mother’s uterus for ten months, it can’t be the one who has all the details in the body like you. For example, you are 20 years old now, and you must have left some imprints on your body during the past 20 years. It can be a scar from a burn when you made tea for your mother, so it not only is a scar,  but also a beautiful memory with your family. 

Secondly, the spirits are also difficult to copy. No one can deny that spirits are human’s essence. If spirits can be copied perfectly, it is not far away from copying a real self. But the video also says that it is just possible to realize this hypothesis. Even though it will become a reality one day, no one can guarantee that all the details and all the memory can be copied, including your character, your temper, your dreams and other things that don’t have marks in your brain. If science is not that perfect as the article says, a copy wouldn’t be the actual you. 

So, in summary, I don’t think an identical copy of myself would be the actual me. This is because both the materials and spirits are all difficult to be copied perfectly.