Progress & ConservationšŸ”°
1 min readMay 24, 2021

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This is excellent and well-written. I especially like the way you made the case that the "generic self" idea implies generic subjective continuity.

One small critique though. You said: "Statistically, the higher the proportion of people in a future world who suffer, the higher the chances that 'you' will find yourself as one of those suffering people." I believe this is mistaken and is actually a lapse back into Cartesian Ego/Self Kernel/soul/atman ways of viewing the self. This statement assumes that there is a unique self transmigrating into a new body. The self is generic (not unique) so generic subjective continuity really means that "you" will be every single one of those people. If GSC is correct, there's a 100% chance that "you" will find yourself as every single one of those people and not merely as just one or another of them.

The arguments in the David Robert essay on ā€œexistential passageā€ donā€™t make sense to me. I donā€™t see how heā€™s concluding that the continuity is between one individual and another individual and not a general continuity extending to all conscious entities.

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Progress & ConservationšŸ”°
Progress & ConservationšŸ”°

Written by Progress & ConservationšŸ”°

Buddhist; Daoist, Atheist; Mystic, Darwinist; Critical Rationalist. Fan of basic income, land value tax, universal healthcare, and nominal GDP targeting.

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