I think it is valuable to consider continuous identity to be something that we build, rather than something that we have automatically, or a percept of some kind. Those of us who are good at building continuous identity don’t notice the effort involved, and perceive it as more-or-less automatic. Those of us who are bad at building continuous identity may, as the original poster suggests, identify more with similar peers than with a future self.
Movies like Memento (antergrade amnesia) and 50 First Dates (no memory from one day to the next) have pointed out that it’s still possible to live, even without the inbuilt facility (memory) that we normally use for building continuous identity. Essentially, the protagonists in those movies practice stigmergy, shaping their environment (tattoos and photographs, letters to future self) in order to shape their future actions and act continuously.
I’ve been trying to write a post on how to amplify one’s intertemporal rationality (including akrasia) by deliberate stigmergic manipulation of one’s personal space, but real life keeps getting in the way.
I think it is valuable to consider continuous identity to be something that we build, rather than something that we have automatically, or a percept of some kind. Those of us who are good at building continuous identity don’t notice the effort involved, and perceive it as more-or-less automatic. Those of us who are bad at building continuous identity may, as the original poster suggests, identify more with similar peers than with a future self.
Movies like Memento (antergrade amnesia) and 50 First Dates (no memory from one day to the next) have pointed out that it’s still possible to live, even without the inbuilt facility (memory) that we normally use for building continuous identity. Essentially, the protagonists in those movies practice stigmergy, shaping their environment (tattoos and photographs, letters to future self) in order to shape their future actions and act continuously.
I’ve been trying to write a post on how to amplify one’s intertemporal rationality (including akrasia) by deliberate stigmergic manipulation of one’s personal space, but real life keeps getting in the way.