If you divide my brain in half

[DT1213]

If you divided your brain in half and placed each half into 2 separate bodies.. do you
A) Remain one person in 2 bodies
B) Become 2 people
C) Something else

I'd be very interested in hearing any thoughts about this.. it's nearly 4am here in England and I can't sleep due to thinking about this question...

Also does this have any implications about the Trinity? If God is 3 persons one being.. can humans be tri personal?  Any links/recommend reading would be great

[Aaron Massey]

 If it was possible, and you believe as materialist believe that the concept of "you" are your "brain", then you would be 2 different halves of one person in 2 bodies.

Wether you are the left or right hemisphere and what parts of "You" are in each one, you would have to speak to Nueroscientists.

It has no bearing on Trinity, God is immaterial, and so is the soul, spirit etc..

[Nunovalente]

If you divided your brain in half and placed each half into 2 separate bodies.. do you
A) Remain one person in 2 bodies
B) Become 2 people
C) Something else

I'd be very interested in hearing any thoughts about this.. it's nearly 4am here in England and I can't sleep due to thinking about this question...

Also does this have any implications about the Trinity? If God is 3 persons one being.. can humans be tri personal?  Any links/recommend reading would be great

You are a soul. You have a spirit, and a body. You brain maintains your body, not your soul or spirit. Cut your brain in half, I doubt either body would work. But you'd still only be you.

[Emuse]

If you divided your brain in half and placed each half into 2 separate bodies.. do you
A) Remain one person in 2 bodies
B) Become 2 people
C) Something else

I'd be very interested in hearing any thoughts about this.. it's nearly 4am here in England and I can't sleep due to thinking about this question...

Also does this have any implications about the Trinity? If God is 3 persons one being.. can humans be tri personal?  Any links/recommend reading would be great

Well, we can't divide the brain in half and place the halves in two separate bodies but we can divide the brain in half.  In fact, this procedure has been carried out on a number of individuals in order to help control seizures.  It is achieved by severing the corpus callosum and results in the right and left hemispheres of the brain not being able to communicate with one another.  This yields some very interesting results.

Severed Corpus Callosum - Part One
Severed Corpus Callosum - Part Two
Girl Living With Half Her Brain

In the final video, the girl had her right hemisphere totally removed. 

[apophenia]

It's my opinion that the things which make us conscious likely depend upon specialized areas of the brain, that it's not apportioned so that each half gets a center of consciousness.  In that sense, if the 'you' is associated with consciousness, and it was divided, only one of the two bodies would still be 'you'.  However, there's a lot of processing the brain can do subconsciously, so I'm not suggesting the non-you portion would be any slouch.  It would still appear very human as only a tiny percentage of what our minds do is located 'within' consciousness.

[kurros]

If you divided your brain in half and placed each half into 2 separate bodies.. do you
A) Remain one person in 2 bodies
B) Become 2 people
C) Something else

I'd be very interested in hearing any thoughts about this.. it's nearly 4am here in England and I can't sleep due to thinking about this question...

Also does this have any implications about the Trinity? If God is 3 persons one being.. can humans be tri personal?  Any links/recommend reading would be great

Well, we can't divide the brain in half and place the halves in two separate bodies but we can divide the brain in half.  In fact, this procedure has been carried out on a number of individuals in order to help control seizures.  It is achieved by severing the corpus callosum and results in the right and left hemispheres of the brain not being able to communicate with one another.  This yields some very interesting results.

Severed Corpus Callosum - Part One
Severed Corpus Callosum - Part Two
Girl Living With Half Her Brain

In the final video, the girl had her right hemisphere totally removed.

Indeed. I think the evidence is strongly in favour of the "B) you become two people" option.

[DT1213]

Very interesting comments thank you! If the evidence suggests B then that would suggest humans are divisible? Can someone be 50% of a person?

[kurros]

Very interesting comments thank you! If the evidence suggests B then that would suggest humans are divisible? Can someone be 50% of a person?

Well I think the result is just two people with reduced cognitive ability. Though it could also be improved if they were suffering from extreme seizures before the operation.

[wonderer]

Very interesting comments thank you! If the evidence suggests B then that would suggest humans are divisible? Can someone be 50% of a person?

This seems to me to be at least as much a question of proper usage of the word "person" as it does a question of metaphysical possibility.  Which question are you asking?

I'd say our use of the word "person" is based on the vastly more typical cases, and ill suited to discussing such unusual cases as split brain patients.

[john doe]

It's my opinion that the things which make us conscious likely depend upon specialized areas of the brain, that it's not apportioned so that each half gets a center of consciousness.  In that sense, if the 'you' is associated with consciousness, and it was divided, only one of the two bodies would still be 'you'.  However, there's a lot of processing the brain can do subconsciously, so I'm not suggesting the non-you portion would be any slouch.  It would still appear very human as only a tiny percentage of what our minds do is located 'within' consciousness.

In fact you got to worry about the side with the conscious mind alone.  How functional would that poor guy be?

[wonderer]

It's my opinion that the things which make us conscious likely depend upon specialized areas of the brain, that it's not apportioned so that each half gets a center of consciousness.  In that sense, if the 'you' is associated with consciousness, and it was divided, only one of the two bodies would still be 'you'.  However, there's a lot of processing the brain can do subconsciously, so I'm not suggesting the non-you portion would be any slouch.  It would still appear very human as only a tiny percentage of what our minds do is located 'within' consciousness.

In fact you got to worry about the side with the conscious mind alone.  How functional would that poor guy be?

I don't think it is likely that consciousness is localized in such a manner.  Typically language usage is lateralized so that it is strongly dependent on the left hemisphere of the brain.  So typically only one half brain is likely to be very effective at communicating its consciouness.  However, neuropsychologists have figured out ways of communicating with both halves of split brain patients, and the results suggest that consciousness is not confined to one hemisphere.

[DT1213]

Very interesting comments thank you! If the evidence suggests B then that would suggest humans are divisible? Can someone be 50% of a person?

This seems to me to be at least as much a question of proper usage of the word "person" as it does a question of metaphysical possibility.  Which question are you asking?

I'd say our use of the word "person" is based on the vastly more typical cases, and ill suited to discussing such unusual cases as split brain patients.

Honestly I haven't thought about this very much at all I just found the question interesting and was seeing what people thought! But yes it would depend on the usage of the word "person". Does being less functional in your brain make you less of a person? I wouldn't think so. What do you think?

[wonderer]

Very interesting comments thank you! If the evidence suggests B then that would suggest humans are divisible? Can someone be 50% of a person?

This seems to me to be at least as much a question of proper usage of the word "person" as it does a question of metaphysical possibility.  Which question are you asking?

I'd say our use of the word "person" is based on the vastly more typical cases, and ill suited to discussing such unusual cases as split brain patients.

Honestly I haven't thought about this very much at all I just found the question interesting and was seeing what people thought! But yes it would depend on the usage of the word "person". Does being less functional in your brain make you less of a person? I wouldn't think so. What do you think?

Well, I'm inclined to extend personhood to other apes, elephants, and cetaceans, and probably beyond, but not to human embryos.  I don't think it is likely that there is any good basis for a clear dividing line.

I kind of lean towards Douglas Hofstadter's thinking in the beginning of his book "I Am a Strange Loop",  where he talks about (and I'm paraphrasing very roughly here) 'ensoulment' being a matter of degree.  With dogs having an ensoulment of 1 perhaps, and the average human having an ensoulment of perhaps 100.

[Moot]

There have been reports of split-brain patients where one half of the brain holds different beliefs and opinions than the other.

It seems like an interesting theological question what would happen if one half was a Christian and the other was and atheist for example.

[wonderer]

There have been reports of split-brain patients where one half of the brain holds different beliefs and opinions than the other.

It seems like an interesting theological question what would happen if one half was a Christian and the other was and atheist for example.

There is this.