Thanks for this lucid reply. It has made me realize that it was a mistake to use the phrase “clear experiential sense” because that misleads people into thinking that I am referring to some singular experience (e.g. some feeling of exhaustion that sets in after the final headache). In light of this issue, I have written a “new” first reply to Michael_S to try to make my position clearer. I think you will find it helpful. Moreover, if you find any part of it unclear, please do let me know.
What I’m about to say overlaps with some of the content in my “new” reply to Michael_S:
You write that you don’t see anything morally relevant linking the person moments of a single person. Are you concluding from this that there is not actually a single subject-of-experience who feels, say, 5 pains over time (even though we talk as if there is)? Or, are you concluding from this that even if there is actually just a single subject-of-experience who feels all 5 pains over time, it is morally no different from 5 subjects-of-experience who each feels 1 pain of the same sort?
What matters to me at the end of the day is whether there is a single subject-of-experience who extends through time and thus is the particular subject who feels all 5 pains. If there is, then this subject experiences what it’s like of going through 5 pains (since, in fact, this subject has gone through 5 pains, whether he remembers going through them or not). Importantly, the what-it’s-like-of-going-through-5-pains is just the collection of the past 5 singular pain episodes, not some singular/continuous experience like an feeling of exhaustion or some super intense pain from the synthesis of the intensity of the 5 past pains. It is this what-it’s-like that can plausibly be worse than the what it’s like of going through a major pain. Since there could only be this what-it’s-like when there is a single subject who experiences all 5 pains, therefore 5 pains spread across 5 people cannot be worse than a major pain (since, at best, there would only be 5 experientially independent what-it’s-like-of-going-through-1-minor-headache).
My latest reply to Michael_S focuses on the question whether there could be a single subject-of-experience who extends through time, and thus capable of feeling multiple pains.
To just briefly answer your question, “Are you concluding from this that there is not actually a single subject-of-experience”: I don’t have an intuition for what a subject-of-experience is – if it is something defined along the lines of the three characteristics of continuous person moments from my previous message, then I feel that it is meaningful but not morally relevant, but if it is defined along the lines of some sort of person essentialism then I don’t believe it exists on Occam’s razor grounds. (For the same reason, I also think that reincarnation is metaphysically meaningless because I think there is no essence to a person or a person moment besides their physical body* until shown otherwise.)
* This is imprecise but I hope it’s clear what I mean. People are also defined by their environment, culture, and whatnot.
You say that you have no intuition for what a subject-of-experience is. So let me say two things that might make it more obvious:
1.Here is how I defined a subject-of-experience in my exchange with Michael_S:
“A subject of experience is just something which “enjoys” or has experience(s), whether that be certain visual experiences, pain experiences, emotional experiences, etc… In other words, a subject of experience is just something for whom there is a “what-it’s-like”. A building, a rock or a plant is not a subject of experience because it has no experience(s). That is why we don’t feel concerned when we step on grass: it doesn’t feel pain or feel anything. On the other hand, a cow is a subject-of-experience: it presumably has visual experiences and pain experience and all sorts of other experiences. Or more technically, a subject-of-experience (or multiple) may be realized by a cow’s physical system (i.e. brain). There would be a single subject-of-experience if all the experiences realized by the cow’s physical system are felt by a single subject. Of course, it is possible that within the cow’s physical system’s life span, multiple subjects-of-experience are realized. This would be the case if not all of the experiences realized by the cow’s physical system are felt by a single subject.”
I later enriched the definition a bit as follows: “A subject-of-experience is a thing that has, OR IS CAPABLE OF HAVING, experience(s). I add the phrase ‘or is capable of having’ this time because it has just occurred to me that when I am in dreamless sleep, I have no experiences whatsoever, yet I’d like to think that I am still around—i.e. that the particular subject-of-experience that I am is still around. However, it’s also possible that a subject-of-experience exists only when it is experiencing something. If that is true, then the subject-of-experience that I am is going out of and coming into existence several times a night. That’s spooky, but perhaps true.”
2.Having offered a definition to Michael, I then say to him here is WHAT MAKES a particular subject-of-experience the numerically same subject-of-experience over time:
“Within any given physical system that can realize subjects of experience (e.g. a cow’s brain), a subject-of-experience at time t-1 (call this subject “S1”) is numerically identical to a subjective-of-experience at some later time t-2 (call this subject “S2“) if and only if an experience at t-1 (call this experience “E1”) and an experience at t-2 (call this experience “E2”) are both felt by S1. That is S1 = S2 iff S1 feels E1 and E2.”
Let me just add: A particular subject-of-experience can obviously be qualitatively different over time, which would happen when his personality changes or memory changes (or is erased) etc… But that doesn’t imply there is any numerical difference. I assume the distinction between numerical identity and qualitative identity is a familiar one to you. In any case, here is an example to illustrate the distinction: Two perfectly matching coins are qualitatively the same, yet they are numerically distinct insofar as they are not one and the same coin.
Hi Telofy,
Thanks for this lucid reply. It has made me realize that it was a mistake to use the phrase “clear experiential sense” because that misleads people into thinking that I am referring to some singular experience (e.g. some feeling of exhaustion that sets in after the final headache). In light of this issue, I have written a “new” first reply to Michael_S to try to make my position clearer. I think you will find it helpful. Moreover, if you find any part of it unclear, please do let me know.
What I’m about to say overlaps with some of the content in my “new” reply to Michael_S:
You write that you don’t see anything morally relevant linking the person moments of a single person. Are you concluding from this that there is not actually a single subject-of-experience who feels, say, 5 pains over time (even though we talk as if there is)? Or, are you concluding from this that even if there is actually just a single subject-of-experience who feels all 5 pains over time, it is morally no different from 5 subjects-of-experience who each feels 1 pain of the same sort?
What matters to me at the end of the day is whether there is a single subject-of-experience who extends through time and thus is the particular subject who feels all 5 pains. If there is, then this subject experiences what it’s like of going through 5 pains (since, in fact, this subject has gone through 5 pains, whether he remembers going through them or not). Importantly, the what-it’s-like-of-going-through-5-pains is just the collection of the past 5 singular pain episodes, not some singular/continuous experience like an feeling of exhaustion or some super intense pain from the synthesis of the intensity of the 5 past pains. It is this what-it’s-like that can plausibly be worse than the what it’s like of going through a major pain. Since there could only be this what-it’s-like when there is a single subject who experiences all 5 pains, therefore 5 pains spread across 5 people cannot be worse than a major pain (since, at best, there would only be 5 experientially independent what-it’s-like-of-going-through-1-minor-headache).
My latest reply to Michael_S focuses on the question whether there could be a single subject-of-experience who extends through time, and thus capable of feeling multiple pains.
Hi Jeff!
To just briefly answer your question, “Are you concluding from this that there is not actually a single subject-of-experience”: I don’t have an intuition for what a subject-of-experience is – if it is something defined along the lines of the three characteristics of continuous person moments from my previous message, then I feel that it is meaningful but not morally relevant, but if it is defined along the lines of some sort of person essentialism then I don’t believe it exists on Occam’s razor grounds. (For the same reason, I also think that reincarnation is metaphysically meaningless because I think there is no essence to a person or a person moment besides their physical body* until shown otherwise.)
* This is imprecise but I hope it’s clear what I mean. People are also defined by their environment, culture, and whatnot.
Hi Telofy, nice to hear from you again :)
You say that you have no intuition for what a subject-of-experience is. So let me say two things that might make it more obvious:
1.Here is how I defined a subject-of-experience in my exchange with Michael_S:
“A subject of experience is just something which “enjoys” or has experience(s), whether that be certain visual experiences, pain experiences, emotional experiences, etc… In other words, a subject of experience is just something for whom there is a “what-it’s-like”. A building, a rock or a plant is not a subject of experience because it has no experience(s). That is why we don’t feel concerned when we step on grass: it doesn’t feel pain or feel anything. On the other hand, a cow is a subject-of-experience: it presumably has visual experiences and pain experience and all sorts of other experiences. Or more technically, a subject-of-experience (or multiple) may be realized by a cow’s physical system (i.e. brain). There would be a single subject-of-experience if all the experiences realized by the cow’s physical system are felt by a single subject. Of course, it is possible that within the cow’s physical system’s life span, multiple subjects-of-experience are realized. This would be the case if not all of the experiences realized by the cow’s physical system are felt by a single subject.”
I later enriched the definition a bit as follows: “A subject-of-experience is a thing that has, OR IS CAPABLE OF HAVING, experience(s). I add the phrase ‘or is capable of having’ this time because it has just occurred to me that when I am in dreamless sleep, I have no experiences whatsoever, yet I’d like to think that I am still around—i.e. that the particular subject-of-experience that I am is still around. However, it’s also possible that a subject-of-experience exists only when it is experiencing something. If that is true, then the subject-of-experience that I am is going out of and coming into existence several times a night. That’s spooky, but perhaps true.”
2.Having offered a definition to Michael, I then say to him here is WHAT MAKES a particular subject-of-experience the numerically same subject-of-experience over time:
“Within any given physical system that can realize subjects of experience (e.g. a cow’s brain), a subject-of-experience at time t-1 (call this subject “S1”) is numerically identical to a subjective-of-experience at some later time t-2 (call this subject “S2“) if and only if an experience at t-1 (call this experience “E1”) and an experience at t-2 (call this experience “E2”) are both felt by S1. That is S1 = S2 iff S1 feels E1 and E2.”
Let me just add: A particular subject-of-experience can obviously be qualitatively different over time, which would happen when his personality changes or memory changes (or is erased) etc… But that doesn’t imply there is any numerical difference. I assume the distinction between numerical identity and qualitative identity is a familiar one to you. In any case, here is an example to illustrate the distinction: Two perfectly matching coins are qualitatively the same, yet they are numerically distinct insofar as they are not one and the same coin.
I hope what I have said here helps!