Hypothetical situation

[Racket_Man]

In ST:TNG (in the 7th season I believe) the process is described as breaking down the matter in your body molecule by molecule and running the matter stream through sub-space then reassembling the matter at the destination.

The specifics were still very vague and belief needed to be suspended.

[Gravekeeper]

In ST:TNG (in the 7th season I believe) the process is described as breaking down the matter in your body molecule by molecule and running the matter stream through sub-space then reassembling the matter at the destination.

It's an atomic break down with a quantum stabilizer of some sort to wave away any pesky scientific questions about quantum physics. Like I said, destructive copying. You're effectively turned into a form of data. Random teleporter accidents have done everything from create duplicates to evil clones to merge people into new beings.

Hence, metaphysically speaking, transporters could be killing everyone that steps in them and just replacing them with clones. Which was actually brought up in one of the shows if I recall. Lacking any way to communicate with the dead, you'd never know if everyone that stepped into them died an instant and horrifying death or not. ;p

[TheHuckster]

It should be noted that Roald Dahl sort of started this concept in Charlie and the Chocolate Factory two years before Star Trek TOS was produced. Of course, his concept didn't explain all the little nuances Gene Roddenberry did.

[Gravekeeper]

It should be noted that Roald Dahl sort of started this concept in Charlie and the Chocolate Factory two years before Star Trek TOS was produced. Of course, his concept didn't explain all the little nuances Gene Roddenberry did.

Nope, try Edward Page Mitchell. Circa, 1877. The idea has been around for a long damn time. -.-

In Roddenberry's case, they wanted to use shuttles to land on every planet. But didn't have the budget, so they came up with transporters.

[aurelemsrealm]

I've come to view the relationship between body and soul in humans as being similar to the relationship between hardware and software in a computer. I found the human model Cylons from the rebooted Battlestar Galactica series interesting. In some ways, they seem to embody this idea.

There are differences because humans aren't limited to a few basic models. I figure this limitation was a plot device to help the audience identify Cylon infiltrators among the humans. It would be more realistic to grow a diverse crop of human bodies which could be downloaded with Cylon programming that simulates the soul.

However, identity is not just based on personality alone. Environment helps to shape how we relate to our existence through our experiences. We rely on the memories of those experiences to provide the foundation on which we base ourselves. Without that foundation, we have no frame of reference. The body is just an anchor which binds the soul together in this plane. The soul serves as the driving force. Similarly, the hardware is a vessel to carry the software. The software provides the instructions which gives it purpose.

[Ghel]

I liked how Babylon 5 handled this very question, primarily because it left the question open-ended in order to spark discussions just like this one.

In my opinion, the person who is mind wiped is not the same person they were before. And you don't even need to go as far as scifi technology to see this. A person with Alzheimer's is not the same person as they were before. An adult is not the same person they were as a child. A person who has gone through a life-changing experience is not (or at least, not quite) the same person as they were before.

People grow and change all the time. The mind wipe technique is simply a more exteme version of the process.

As to whether it would be a good alternative to capital punishment or life imprisonment, I don't know.