Question of the Week
I have a bit of a hypothetical question: Brain transplants are not yet possible. But one day they may be. If I had one (and many of my friends have suggested I do), who would I be? Would I still be me, or would I be the donor, just in my body?
Answer:
The concept of a brain transplant is quite hard to get your head around. It's not rocket science, but it is brain surgery. And although it isn't yet possible, the discussion around it is not entirely hypothetical. There are practical implications that are immediately relevant.
If you believe the human being is no more than flesh and blood, that the body is all there is, then you are your brain. According to this view, identity is made up of your memory, your thoughts and your awareness, all of which are stored in the brain. If you received someone else's brain, you would receive their memory, and so their identity would become yours.
But I think it is absurd to believe that our body is all we are. A person is so much more than just a piece of meat. You have layers to your identity that transcend your physical self. You have a soul. And that is where the real you is found.
Your body, including your brain, is just the hardware. Your soul is the software. A brain transplant would be like getting a new phone. You transfer your information from the cloud to the new device. Your identity would download onto the new brain. Even with a someone else's brain, the soul would still be yours. You'd still be you.
This is why someone who loses their memory, due to Alzheimer's or the like, does not lose their identity. Their soul remains in tact. Even if their brain cannot process the information, it is all still there, in the soul. The hardware may be damaged, but the information is all there in the cloud. The soul always remains whole.
This is why when someone passes away, they are still connected to us. The soul leaves the body at the end of life on earth, and takes its memories along with them to the next world. We remember them, and they remember us. The connection always remains, on both ends.
Thanks for a fascinating question. It must have come from a good brain. I think you should keep it.
Good Shabbos,
Rabbi Moss
With thanks to Rabbi Yitzi Hurwitz of Temecula CA for adding the point about memory loss.
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