Stanislaw Lem, Summa Technologiae - Killing the Telegraphed Person - Sadler's Lectures
From Sadler's Lectures by Lectures on classic and contemporary philosophical texts and thinkers by Gregory B. Sadler
June 9, 2026 · 14 min
About this episode
This episode discusses the moral implications of turning a person into information and the consequences of their transportation as explored in Stanislaw Lem's Summa Technologiae.
This video focuses on chapter 6 of Stanislaw Lem's Summa Technologiae, specifically the section “Personality and Information”, which discusses thought experiments that bear on turning a person into information and reconstituting that person somewhere else or at a different point in time. Specifically it examines one feature of these types of situations that is morally problematic, namely that it seems like the process has to in some way or another kill the original person who is telegraphed or transported. To support my ongoing work, go to my Patreon site - www.patreon.com/sadler If you'd like to make a direct contribution, you can do so here - www.paypal.me/ReasonIO - or at BuyMeACoffee - www.buymeacoffee.com/A4quYdWoM You can find over 4500 philosophy videos in my main YouTube channel - www.youtube.com/user/gbisadler Purchase Stanislaw Lem's Summa Technologiae - https://amzn.to/4v0FxNz
People in this episode
Host: Gregory B. Sadler
Topics covered
- philosophy
- thought experiments
- morality
- information theory
- identity
- transportation
Keywords
- Stanislaw Lem
- Summa Technologiae
- philosophy
- information
- morality
- thought experiments
- identity
- transportation
Mentioned in this episode
Books & works: Summa Technologiae
More episodes of Sadler's Lectures
- Thomas Hobbes, De Corpore - "Of Identity And Difference" - Sadler's Lectures · June 12, 2026 · 10 min
- Stanislaw Lem, Summa Technologiae - Defrosting And Duplicating - Sadler's Lectures · June 10, 2026 · 10 min
- Stanislaw Lem, Summa Technologiae - Paradoxes Of Telegraphing Persons - Sadler's Lectures · June 7, 2026 · 13 min
- William Clifford, The Ethics Of Belief - The Limits Of Inference - Sadler's Lectures · June 4, 2026 · 14 min
- William Clifford, The Ethics Of Belief - Beliefs and Traditions - Sadler's Lectures · May 30, 2026 · 15 min
- William Clifford, The Ethics Of Belief - Veracity, Knowledge, and Judgement - Sadler's Lectures · May 28, 2026 · 15 min
Explore listener stats, chart rankings, contacts and more on the Sadler's Lectures podcast page.