I’ve thought about this before and I think I’d have to take the second horn. Argument: assuming we can ignore quantum effects for the moment, imagine setting up a computer running one instance of some mind. There’re no other instances anywhere. Shut the machine down. Assuming no dust theory style immortality (which, if there was such a thing, would seem to violate born stats, and given that we actually observe the validity of born stats...), total weight/measure/reality-fluid assigned to that mind goes from 1 to 0, so it looks reasonable that second horn type stuff is allowed to happen.
I’d say personal continuity is real, but is made up of stuff like memory, causality maybe, etc. I suspect those things explain it rather than explain it away.
However, given that in this instance it seems QM actually makes things behave in a saner way, there’s one other option I think we ought consider, though I’m hesitant to bring it up:
Horn 5b: consciousness may be inherently quantum. This is not, on its own, an explanation of consciousness, but maybe we ought consider the possibility that the only types of physical processes that are “allowed” to be conscious are in some way tied to inherently quantum ones, and the only type of mind branching that’s allowed is via quantum branching.
Given that, as you point out, it seems that the only form of branching that we experience (ie, quantum branching) is the one way that actually seems to (for some reason) automatically make it work out in a way that doesn’t produce confusing weirdness, well...
(EDIT: main reason I’m bringing up this possibility is that it’s an option that would actually help recover “it all adds up to normality”)
(EDIT2: Ugh, I’m stupid: “normality” except for more or less allowing stuff that’s pretty close to being p-zombies… so this doesn’t actually improve the situation all that much as far as “normality” after all.)
Other than that, maybe when we explicitly solve the Born stats fully satisfactorily, when we see how nature is pulling the trick off, then we’ll hopefully automatically see the consequences of this situation.
I’ve thought about this before and I think I’d have to take the second horn. Argument: assuming we can ignore quantum effects for the moment, imagine setting up a computer running one instance of some mind. There’re no other instances anywhere. Shut the machine down. Assuming no dust theory style immortality (which, if there was such a thing, would seem to violate born stats, and given that we actually observe the validity of born stats...), total weight/measure/reality-fluid assigned to that mind goes from 1 to 0, so it looks reasonable that second horn type stuff is allowed to happen.
I’d say personal continuity is real, but is made up of stuff like memory, causality maybe, etc. I suspect those things explain it rather than explain it away.
However, given that in this instance it seems QM actually makes things behave in a saner way, there’s one other option I think we ought consider, though I’m hesitant to bring it up:
Horn 5b: consciousness may be inherently quantum. This is not, on its own, an explanation of consciousness, but maybe we ought consider the possibility that the only types of physical processes that are “allowed” to be conscious are in some way tied to inherently quantum ones, and the only type of mind branching that’s allowed is via quantum branching.
Given that, as you point out, it seems that the only form of branching that we experience (ie, quantum branching) is the one way that actually seems to (for some reason) automatically make it work out in a way that doesn’t produce confusing weirdness, well...
(EDIT: main reason I’m bringing up this possibility is that it’s an option that would actually help recover “it all adds up to normality”)
(EDIT2: Ugh, I’m stupid: “normality” except for more or less allowing stuff that’s pretty close to being p-zombies… so this doesn’t actually improve the situation all that much as far as “normality” after all.)
Other than that, maybe when we explicitly solve the Born stats fully satisfactorily, when we see how nature is pulling the trick off, then we’ll hopefully automatically see the consequences of this situation.