What is the Ship of Theseus?

The Ship of Theseus is a thought experiment. It presents the story of the ship of the legendary Greek hero, Thesus. As the ship ages, old parts are replaced with new ones over and over until none of the original material which the ship was made of is left. This story asks the question: if an object has every part of its physical form replaced, is it still the same object as it was?

The Ship of Theseus is a good thought experiment to examine the Estamic concept of esencoj and how they can be used to make sense of our relationship with identity.

Esencoj are the product of consciousness interacting with reality through interpretation. When we repair the Ship, we are physically shaping concrete reality using our bodies. Similarly, when we perceive the Ship and connect non-physical concepts to it, we are "spiritually" shaping abstract reality. It is not just a collection of various kinds of matter in our minds. It has the quality of being of Theseus, and the Ship embodies the legend of Theseus. These are not physical qualities; the original wood may have been touched by that man, and its original body may have gone on his adventures, but physically all that is, is the contact of wood, sandals, and the sea. The signficance of being "of Theseus," and what it means to be symbolic of that legend, exist only in our consciousness interpreting the concrete world and engaging in abstract qualities of our own creation.

Which leads us to the question: is it the same ship?

An estamosophic take on the Ship of Theseus would be that, yes, it is. Or, it is as long as someone interprets it as such. Esencoj are embodied by concrete reality, but not reliant on them to exist. Esencoj, unlike material stuff, are not reliant on physical laws. Esencoj can have infinite "shapes" at once, and can change "shape" instantaneously.

When a board on the Ship is taken off and replaced, the body of the Ship has changed. But the new board is immediately integrated into the esenco of the Ship. Even after everything has been replaced, and replaced again, and again and again, as long as someone (even just one person) looks at it and sees it as The Ship of Theseus, it is the same ship. The essence of the Ship has remained the same.

This framework can also be applied to ourselves. Both our bodies and our minds change a lot over the course of our lives. What keeps us "the same" is our perception of contintuity. You are still you, even after years of change and billions of shed cells, because you interpret yourself as a continuous "you". And you may not! You may see yourself as having truly changed who you are, or perhaps you feel that your self contains/has contained many different you's. There are infinite ways to interpret your own personhood and sense of self.

Tagged as: #philosophy