On the Continuity and Origin of Identity in Distributed Ledgers: Learning from Russell's Paradox.

This article studies the origin and continuity of the identity of the entities inscribed in a distributed ledger. Specifically, it focuses on the differences between the identities of the entities that exist in a distributed ledger and those of the entities that exist outside the ledger but must be...

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Detalles Bibliográficos
Publicado en:Metaphilosophy Vol. 48; no. 5; pp. 687 - 698
Autor principal: Parra Moyano, JosÉ
Formato: Artículo
Publicado: Wiley-Blackwell Oct2017
Materias:
Acceso en línea:Ver este registro en EBSCOhost
Descripción
Sumario:This article studies the origin and continuity of the identity of the entities inscribed in a distributed ledger. Specifically, it focuses on the differences between the identities of the entities that exist in a distributed ledger and those of the entities that exist outside the ledger but must be represented in the ledger in order to interact with it. It suggests that a distributed ledger that contains representations of entities that exist outside the ledger can yield a continuum of interconnected existing and past identities that is constantly redefined to represent new conceptual entities. This continuum can be understood as a metasortal-or a sortal of sortals-that resembles the mathematical structure of a set of sets. Further, the article presents the dilemma that arises when representing the identities of entities in a distributed ledger, and it draws an analogy between this dilemma and Russell's Paradox.