Could I be replaced with such a complete duplicate-every atom,
not just genetically identical -- it would think that it was me.
But clearly it would not be me, especially if I were not destroyed in the replacement
and continued to exist off somewhere else. We can imagine that such complete identity
might produce a being that would simply see itself as existing in two places at once,
but this would require some kind of communication; and that would require the existence
of some kind of extrasensory or paranormal connection between the two bodies, which is not now part of established science. Without such paranormal communication,
the identical individuals would each think of themselves as the original individual,
although only one of them would be right; and they would immediately begin to diverge
as individuals because of differing experiences.
- Thought Experiments on the Soul by Kelley L. Ross, Ph.D.
Imagine a time – whether prehistorical or transhistorical – when human beings lived moment-to-moment in the presence of the sacred.
Charles Eisenstein