Forever a-clone

[sparrowsabre7]

In the long list of hypothetical questions I give way too much thought to, this one ranks rather highly

Comments

[sutanri]

The main issue here, really, is the clone. The clone, full of all those memories, would probably still love you. You and the clone would be just as right for each other as you and your partner were, and I can't imagine the clone being particularly happy about you 'breaking up' with it (though, of course, you were never really together). Moreover, consider the emotional reaction the clone would have to life as a whole, knowing from the off(or worse, at some point discovering) that they were just filling the shoes of someone who had died. As a character of great significance in the clone's memory, I would say it would be your duty to at very least try and be supportive and make things easier for them, whether you intend to be in a relationship with them or not

[sparrowsabre7]

I had thought about that as an addendum actually (if that's the right word). I don;t think I'd be less scared (but then I'm not scared of death, in fact I'm MORE scared of living with some debilitating disease, because I just love to see the silver lining...) becuase it would still be me dying.

I don't think you should flat out ignore the clone of course, but I don't think you should treat them like they're the dead person. I agree happiness for the living > respect for the dead too, but I think if you took a cloe as your new partner you're not really moving on or acknowledging what's happened. it's not like a widow/widower having a relationship with the deceased's sibling, it's like getting a do-over; death is a part of life too so I feel it should be respected.

[sutanri]

While it might seem like an odd thing to say, if everyone concerned is okay with it, then what is there actually wrong with forming a relationship with the clone? Why is it necessary to 'move on' in a case where you don't actually have to? It might not work very well with our instincts, but I really can't think of any logical reason. I'm not sure I'd go for it myself (though I'm leaning closer and closer to it the more I think about it), but that'd entirely because it'd feel weird, not because I find it to be an intrinsically flawed thing to do.

[sparrowsabre7]

I know what you're trying to say, but I still don't really agree. If you don't move on you're refusing to accept the truth of the matter.

Maybe if I put it another way, say that there is no clone yet, but it's your call to have one created if you wish. Would you so easily say "yes, replace her" then?

[sutanri]

In my case in particular, quite possibly yes, since I actually discussed this question with my girlfriend for a while and she's actually far more in favour of the whole idea. In fact, it started an interesting discussion between us in the nature of self, and what it is to be 'you'. She argued that if it was an identical body with identical memories and past experience that fully understood its past, present, and future in the same way then the clone would in fact BE the person who died, rather than a replacement. She added that it was in her mind practically indistinguishable from resurrection

[sutanri]

In fact, I'll put in another hypothetical. Y'know that story with the man in the ship that's falling apart? Can't remember who it was at all, but the point is he's sailing along and his boat is falling apart. Every time a bit breaks off, he gets some more wood and repairs it. It takes a very long time, but after he's sailed it for long enough he's eventually replaced every single part on the ship. Miraculously, all of the driftwood from his breaking ship come to the shore, and when it's found some people make a ship from it. Which is his original ship? This might seem a bit irrelevant, but what if the cloning wasn't necessarily 'cloning' so much as it was a fairly extreme form of repairing. Your partner or loved one has been in an accident, was killed, and was incredibly badly damaged. Luckily, technology allows you to fully repair the body and kickstart their minds back into action again. Thank god for the wonders of modern medicine

[sparrowsabre7]

"for all intents and purposes the clone is, in fact, your partner

[sutanri]

With the first issue, again its an issue where you just need to consider the feelings of the person being cloned/the clone. In the film, this man's wife clearly wasn't so on board with the whole concept. Maybe she believed in the existence of a soul, or similar. Who knows. If that's the case, then yeah, I'd say not cloning would be the best idea, since the clone would share the opinion of the original and wouldn't much approve of its own existence, which is hardly positive