Thought Experiment

The Ship Of Theseus

One of the oldest of all thought experiments is the paradox known as the Ship of Theseus, which originated in the writings of Plutarch. It describes a ship that remained seaworthy for hundreds of years thanks to constant repairs and replacement parts. As soon as one plank became old and rotted, it would be replaced, and so on until every working part of the ship was no longer original to it. The question is whether this end product is still the same Ship of Theseus, or something completely new and different. If it’s not, at what point did it stop being the same ship? The Philosopher Thomas Hobbes would later take the problem even further: if one were to take all the old parts removed from the Ship of Theseus and build a new ship from them, then which of the two vessels is the real Ship of Theseus?

For philosophers, the story of the Ship of Theseus is used as a means of exploring the nature of identity, specifically the question of whether objects are more than just the sum of their parts. A more modern example would be a band that had evolved over the years to the point that few or no original members remained in the lineup. This notion is also applicable to everything from businesses, which might retain the same name despite mergers and changes in leadership, to the human body, which is constantly regenerating and rebuilding itself. At its heart, the experiment forces one to question the commonly held idea that identity is solely contained in physical objects and phenomena.

“Which you is ‘who’? The person you are today? Five years ago? Who you’ll be in fifty years? And when is ‘am’? This week? Today? This hour? This second? And which aspect of you is ‘I’? Are you your physical body? Your thoughts and feelings? Your actions?”

What is it that makes up our personal identity through time?

Entry Note To Self...

Order and chaos

They are both the same in many ways, especially in our lives. We are either in control of our lives or merely think we are. I try to control some of my chaos as best I can or think I am.

My days are fairly routine. Filled with have to’s or I don't want to’s, but do it anyway.  The one thing I control in my life is the time when I make my daily entry notes to myself. That takes place around noon each day…not everyday but most. What truly fascinates me.. is the order that comes while writing one’s thoughts. Order out of Chaos in a way. Order to the randomness of our minds. 

Just random thoughts of memories...there for no apparent meaning, unless we wish to give them meaning…some measure of order to our lives…perhaps?

Today’s Entry Note To Self:  “It is no secret that there are things we cannot control, but is this chaos? I would be so bold as to say yes. Even in our controlled self, there is a deep rumbling chaos that we call… life.”