4 ms·
On that distinction i'm not sure I agree, if in both cases all parts of the ship have been replaced, the difference between doing it all at once and gradually i
by shadowprofile77 7y ago
On that distinction i'm not sure I agree, if in both cases all parts of the ship have been replaced, the difference between doing it all at once and gradually is a semantic one, with rejection of the "new" ship as the same thing as the old ship being more of an emotional reaction. In either case, it's somewhat separate from what I mentioned about the cells in the brain and how they do stay the same over decades even if others in the body change just like the parts of the ship. Like I said though, that needs a bit of further confirmation because the science seems a bit ambiguous on the details.
- godelski 7y agoI don't think the difference is as trivial as you think. When you replace things slowly there are shared experiences for those parts. They have commonality among them. When you replace something instantly there is no shared experiences or commonality.
- shadowprofile77 7y agoThis is an interesting point that I hadn't quite considered. Not sure how it would apply on the scale of inanimate objects but I could see it being relevant to a macroscopic organic system with consciousness, like our brains and bodies.
- godelski 7y agoWell the analogy was directed at macroscopic organic systems with consciousness. But with Theseus's ship we can see a similarity. If we had a ship, tore it down, then built a new ship without using any parts from the old ship, every sane person would call that a different ship. Frankly, the tearing it down step isn't required (an important factor). Conversely, if we repair a ship over time we do consider it the same ship. Maybe this is just personifying objects, but these conclusions about new ship/same ship would be pretty standard. It is why we distinguish replica and restoration.
- IggleSniggle 7y agoIf it were possible to swap out a ship with an “identical” replica instantaneously (I’m not sure what the benefit would be) I think most people on board would consider it to be the same ship. And, for that matter, it’s relatively common for ship owners to name their ships after the prior ship that held the same function, as if it was the same ship, even when it’s a totally different make/model!
- godelski 7y agoBut instead of swap make an identical copy. You now have two ships.
- IggleSniggle 7y agoThis reminds me of relics in the Catholic Church. An object held by a saint gains divinity due to their commonality, and being in the presence of that divine object passes along the divinity once again.