Is continuity of consciousness an illusion?

Priscilla, the evolving and building, not dying part makes a lot of sense to me as well. I don't understand why this requires a man-made diety, and that's probably not what you're saying. Here is my working answer. I know it all sounds a little Chinese poem-ish, but I hope this makes a bit of sense.

I'll use a rivulet example to explain how I think of this. Let's say your consciousness is a rivulet of some substance running down a tree. The front end of the rivulet, as it makes its way down the tree, is current experience. Everytime you go to sleep or get knocked out, the rivulet merely stops. It still has the rest of the rivulet (what brought it there) behind it, or further up the tree, it's just not currently flowing.

There are other substances (other people) flowing down the tree as well, and those can shape your path, as well can the bark (outside experiences).

This way of viewing things answers a number of questions.

Continuity of consciousness is not an illusion. Where we are now on the tree is a product of which way the rivulet went before, and we can still see it further up the tree...it's still "us" and it doesn't matter if out current state stopped for a while (sleep/temporary unconsciousness).

Also, this explains the fact that if you clone yourself (create a rivulet of the same substance), you don't achieve continuity of consciousness. The only way to achieve eternal consciousness is to upload the brain onto a non-organic substrate (substrate independence for the win!).

Caleb, I'm not talking about the brain in a vat argument, although there are some interesting and highly logical arguments for such a view. I encourage you to read this paper by a leading philosopher: http://www.simulation-argument.com/simulation.html

I'm talking about the idea of the Self and the continuity of experience, building up to become what we would call the Self. Is it continuous? Are we the same "person?"