The Ship of Theseus

There is no way to prove that the world was not created yesterday. Like a dream, we could have memories of things that did not happen: Information filling in the blanks of our non-existence. Imagine a divine, omnipotent, omniscient creator, such as God. Imagine the creator placing the Earth, and all its inhabitants, into existence just as they are now. The creator could conjure humans with memories of the past; things that never happened, but that each individual can remember. Phantom memories: Things they have learned, people they have met, experiences they have had, all of it untrue. Yet, the argument could be made that because that people have perceived these things, they are just as real.

Consider the idea that you were created as such yesterday. All of your memories from before you woke yesterday never happened, and, before your eyes opened, you did not exist. Can you prove that is not true? Do you believe it isn’t true? One could argue that who we are is a collection of our past experiences. However, this isn’t quite true. We are shaped by the memories of our past experiences. What we remember shapes who we are. We are not constantly re-learning things, we remember learning things, and our memories are often warped. We are constructed of memories and perceptions, true or false.

“Schizophrenics suffering from “thought insertion” and “alien voices” delusions report that they are not in control of their thoughts. Indeed, they often envisage a particular individual who, they claim, is doing the thinking for them, or implants thoughts in their mind.” Explains Uriah Kriegel, of the Internet Encyclopedia of Philosophy. This perceived construction could be an example of created thoughts and memories, or even an artificial self. Many would disagree, stating that the thoughts come from within them, whether or not they perceive it that way. However, what happens when they lose that “particular individual,” developing their ideas and their selves independent of the entity they believed controlled them? Would they still be themselves? Many would be inclined to say yes, of course they would be themselves, but it begs a deeper question of which parts of them are them, and which parts of them can be replaced or removed before they become a new entity.

This idea has been explored through the story of The Ship of Theseus, a paradoxical thought experiment. Theseus, an ancient Greek king, thought to have founded the city of Athens, fought many naval battles on his ship. As a tribute to him, the people of Athens kept his ship on the water as a symbol. However, as the wood of the ship began to deteriorate, planks were replaced one by one, until all the wood had been replaced, and the ship had been entirely reconstructed. There is much debate as to what defines the Ship of Theseus as being the same ship, whether the ship’s physical form is what causes it to be what it is, or if there is some incorporeal quality which gives it the title of “The Ship of Theseus,” or if it is solely human perception that gives it the qualities of the Ship of Theseus, and no ship is the Ship of Theseus absent the perception of a sentient mind.

“[You’ve] replaced your outer layer of skin hundreds of times… Your red blood cells only live for about 4 months before they’re cycled out… Even your skeleton is constantly being remodeled… Just like The Doctor, or the Ship of Theseus, you’re constantly being replaced by new physical versions of yourself.” Hank Green of Crash Course Philosophy believes. It takes approximately seven years before all the cells in one’s body have been replaced, and no part of that person is the same. However, that person would most likely continue to think of themselves as themselves, and that person’s stream of consciousness and perception is the same as it was seven years prior. The individual holds all the same memories, with seven years of new ones, so this must be the same person.

Ultimately, the only thing that makes us us is the way we, and others, perceive ourselves. We perceive ourselves however we do. Some believe that the Ship of Theseus has some inherent, incorporeal quality that makes it the Ship of Theseus, and they would believe that the same is true for themselves, and their own physical beings. Others would believe that there is nothing that inherently makes us us, that we are an amalgam of our perceptions and experiences, and that there is ultimately no true self. With no way to determine the truth of anything outside of one’s head, all anyone can do is be the person they see as themselves, and carry on existing.

Works Cited:

Crashcourse. "Personal Identity: Crash Course Philosophy #19." YouTube. YouTube, 27 June 2016. Web. 18 Jan. 2017.

WirelessPhilosophy. "PHILOSOPHY - Mind: Personal Identity (The Narrative Self) [HD]."YouTube. YouTube, 05 Feb. 2016. Web. 18 Jan. 2017.