Slightly Interesting Views On Ponder-Worthy Philosophical Prompts

Would you respond different to a clone of a loved one?

2. "If someone you loved was killed in front of you, but someone created a copy of them that was perfect right down to the atomic level, would they be the same person and would you love them just as much?"

--Now, for this question, we are going to assume(Ibis is going to assume) that they managed to make the new person an exact copy of the original, down to the last mannerism and off-key memory. --

Ibis: When I first inspected this question I thought that the answer to it would be quite simple. I mean, of course you would still love them, right? Who wouldn't if they were exactly the same? But then I did some thinking and upon intense(more like meager) inflection, I think I wouldn't answer the same. 

It's like, although they are the same as the person you loved, you would forever be haunted and reminded of the fact that the real person is gone. This new person, in my opinion, almost wouldn't be as much as your loved one as an extremely painful reminder of what you have lost. If this were to happen to me, I feel like I would probably love them at first, but after awhile I would probably become quite despondent and perturbed at the fact that what I now loved was nothing more than an extremely good replica of what I really loved. 

In my opinion, although this could help one cope with loss in the beginning, I feel like after a while this clone would only cause psychological distress and pain for the person. 

Risu: I don't think I would. I mean yah it's the same person, but that's only on the outside. You can't recreate that many memories. Memories make up who we are, the things that have happened in our lived and how they have affected us. So, even if we were somehow capable of creating an exact copy of someone else, we wouldn't accurately be able to recreate their personality. Assuming we were able to recreate their memories too, it still wouldn't give them the same personality and behaviors. (arguing against Ibis's theory that they would act the same) just because the copy has the same memories, doesn't mean that it would affect them the same way, the emotions in memories gets dulled as time goes on, so the pain or joy that one feels effects them. Simply being given all the memories won't create the same personality. The sting of being wronged as a child could cause someone to have a strong sense of justice, but the memory of the event is nothing close to what actually happened. This might cause the copy to not have such a strong sense of justice. It may seem trivial, but all these small differences add up quickly when you realize that every event shapes who we are. But that's just how I see the issue

          Now onto the feelings about the copy... while at first you may feel connected to them, that feeling may not last long as you would be able to tell that they were different. I would think that if I were in such a situation I would be slightly hurt, perhaps even insulted, that someone tried to replace a person dear to me. That doesn't mean that I would take it out on the copy, but I probably wouldn't care for the copy the same way I cared for the original.