is wipeing someone of all their memories the same as killing them?

Question

are we just a sum of all our experiences? could we do it to violent criminals instead of locking them up for life or killing them? would this be ethical?

if we did wip a criminals mind would he or she still be guilty of their crime?

if we did wipe a criminals mind would he or she still be guilty of their crime?

Answer 1

I say kill them cos they still have bad hearts

Answer 2

Wiping someones memory is not the same as killing them. They will still be breathing and walking around. Althought you may have wipe the mind you have not got rid of certian triats that are hard wired into the brain. Supposing the crime they commited was at the age of 25 do you then wipe the first 24 yrs with no crime out too? Do you wipe their childhood memories to. I personally dont think that is ethical.
If they were violent criminals the people who they commited a crime against be trumatised. Would it be fair to wipe the criminals mind then say ok you are no longer guilty of the crime but the victim still has the scars of the crime mentally and physically. How would the victim get retribution? Would you use the same thing on the victim wipe their mind?
Memories are what drives the human race to achieve things. And like with every thing you need to have knowledge of the bad things to appreciate the good things. Wiping someone mind because they are bad might make some people commit horrendous crimes that they might not do. If they have the knowledge that their mind is going to get wiped and have a completely new life guilt free.

Answer 3

I guess you could say that. But there are an infinite number of nuances to this debate, that I don't think we could come up with a reasonable answer.

Back in the day, they did leucotomies (also known as lobotomies) on criminals and mental patients. I would think that if a criminal were subjected to this, he already would have been declared criminally insane, therefore not guilty of the crimes he may have committed.

There is a particularly sad story of a guy named "HM" who underwent a certain brain procedure to try to fix his schizophrenia. A portion of his brain was removed, and it did indeed result in an improvement in his schizo symptoms.

However, it produced an even worse side effect. It basically wiped out all his memory, at least the memory that he had since the operation. He could remember his whole life up to about two years before the operation, but nothing else. He was in all ways very normal and quite intelligent.

But he could not remember ANYTHING that happened to him. Each day was an entirely new day for him. (Kind of like an evil twist on "Groundhog Day.") You could have a conversation with him, and he would seem normal. But if you stepped out and came back five minutes later, he would have no recollection of ever meeting you.

The poor guy knew that there was something wrong with him. But there was nothing anyone could do for him. Although he was pretty much employed by science to tell them about his experience. He even mentioned once that he felt he gave interviews for a living. I think he was only about 26 or something when he had the procedure done.

However, as sad as his experience was, it did give science some very interesting information about how memories are stored in the brain.

Love, Jack.

Answer 4

No, wiping someones mind is not the same as killing them. For a start they would still be alive they just wouldnt remember anything.
Although i think experiences are a large part of who we are and how we tread our way through the world i dont think that this is or can be the total sum. There are genetic/medical factors that are also part of the equasion and also personal choice,faith and if you believe in it fate could even play a part in our sum.

Why should violent criminals get the benefit of such an amazing procedure anyways, i think that some people should live with what they do til they die and that is part of their burden to shoulder for what they do. More humane and much more useful perhaps would be to offer the procedure to victims of all different things from crime to natural disasters to abuse and people with cancer so that they can live each day for a brand new one, much nicer than giving that opportunity to violent crims.

Apart from the fact that actually i think its pretty unethical to mess with anyones mind fullstop,It would be totally unethical as they don't deserve it as much as many other people.

Id just like to add that this is a strange question and wonder why you would think of violent criminals as people who may benefit from this awesome non existent invention...oh and if you havent already seen it watch Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind whether you like Jim Carrey or not as there is relevant subject matter that may amuse you or make you think.

Answer 5

Wiping out someone's memory (all of it) is not the same as killing them since they live on as a person and remain capable of learning new (and old) things.

I could be said to be 'killing' the personality that existed with the wiped out memories. I don't know if the newly formed personality would differ radically from the original one - if it didn't then wiping out the memory of a criminal might only delay their return to crime. I believe everyone can change if they REALLY want to so it might be better to channel our efforts at criminal reform in that direction.

Since I oppose the death penalty (even for those who are actually guilty when executed) I might reluctantly agree to memory wiping IF it was the only alternative but, given a free choice, I would oppose both as unethical.

Answer 6

Perhaps.

I believe that people are more than just their sum of experiences. Some people have a disposition to do harm to others, and I believe that even if you wiped their memories, they would eventually do the same things again.

However, I believe that some people have been so corrupted by their experiences, that this would be a good alternative to killing them. They might change and become a completely new person.

When convicted of a crime, I believe that we should first do an analysis to determine if their criminal activity was a result of genetics or experiences. If it was due to experiences, than we wipe their memory, and they start again. If we could isolate those memory that caused them to do the crime, perhaps we could just wipe those few memories?

Answer 7

Sounds like u are talking about Alzhiemer's (spelling).

I see the major loss in losing memory, but IF the person or victim is unaware of their state, to themselves, they are not dead (reminds me of the tree sound in the woods thing).
To others? Yeah, this person has to be remembered how they were, in essense, but treated how they are without the memory..gently.
I also think you have to respect that person's wishes. Some people would say if that happens, kill me..others would want to hang onto any assemblance of life.
Violent Criminals? I don't think they are guided by memories as much as by biochemistry, or in some cases, nature. Would it be ethical IF it did remedy the violence? I personally say no, but I guess at some point society would have to weigh more heavily than the bleeding hearts who say they'd fight for anyone's rights...even those who kill their mom?
By the way, killing memories doesn't mean the person couldn't form a new identity. So they would not be the sum of their experiences if they got religious (for example) since u might consider this a choice by which a person might naturally identify themselves. That does not mean the person would be a better person (however that is judged), but they would be adopting an identity or self-label, unless God chooses us, or the person's label has nothing to do with their identity in their particular way of thinking.

Answer 8

Well i am a basis of my own personality and that is effected by experiences, which reinforce or un-reinforce certain parts of my character.

The am that i am now is based around past events, so say that we did remove my memories, than i guess all we would be left with is an begining self, as all persons are a result of events this person without memory in my ad-hoc thinking, would resemble a baby. Remeber that we are taught events, and learn them through experiences

(this is if we could totally remove all memories and the human personality is defined totally by memories and no other factor)


On the crime part, well if people are put in "prision" to be rehab, or punished, well wipping out there memories is basic rehab, you create a new person so there is resoultion, although is that person really healed,

Answer 9

Have you herd the phrase "The apple doesn't fall far from the tree"? Why is it two identical twins can be separated at birth and still live lives similar to each-other? A child separated from parents, but still has their traits? There is a lot more to it than taking away the memories of a person, because the brain of that person would still be hard wired a certain way. They would not be able to explain why they do the things they do, or act the way they act. The general person would still be there, and yes things that happen to people do effect how one thinks, and rounds out the personality, but that is only part of the bigger picture.
CyberNara
*Note*- I stress that the wiring of a person's brain greatly affects the personality, but I don't think it means that one is abolutely destaned to be a certain way. Although the chances can be stacked in favour to be one way or another. It is the combination of things that happen to you, AND how you deal with it.

Answer 10

Personally, I would say no...

If we look at all the cases of people suffering total memory loss, most are able to live some semblance of life after being diagnosed, meaning to me that they must therefore have some "existence", which differs from being killed, and therefore having no existence at all.

Could we ever be sure wiping a criminal's memory would totally stop them re-offending, if it were proved possible to do such a thing?

Are criminal traits part of their genetic make up, meaning are we "born criminals", in the way some believe we are "born" racist or born homosexual, or are these traits learnt or acquired because they are actively seeked?

Would cutting off a sex offender's genitals prevent them re-offending in the future?

Going back to your original question, it depends what you believe... "an eye for an eye" or total forgiveness...

Take your pick... ;-)

HTH

Answer 11

First of all, this is not a possibility. There is no known way of wiping all memory from a person's mind.
If there was, they would still be guilty of a crime if they had committed it while in full possession of their faculties.
You may as well ask if it is ethical to castrate sex offenders. Some have been known to request this, in which case it is their choice.
Simon 2