What makes you “you”?
The Ship of Theseus Paradox and Defining “Self”
As human beings, we all have what makes us unique. Right from birth, standing out has become a core mission for any human born on this earth. No one wants to conform anymore, movies now push narratives of finding your place and becoming who you are.
But who are you really?
For example, Mark is a young engineering student, passionate about music, audio and all these pleasant sounds. He also claims to be a Leo, an INTJ or whatever he can handle to describe himself. But there are other people born between August 23rd to September 23rd, and there are also many people who identify as INTJ too, so he definitely can’t remember that. So what happens, is if he gets kidnapped, someone learns all his likes and hobbies and becomes him. He becomes so recognizable to family and friends that they forget entirely the old Mark.
Mark A has now become redundant. He’s escaped but his family members cannot accept him because there’s Mark here already. No matter how much he tries to show them that he is the one, his replacement is even better than him.
Scary right?
In the Ship of Theseus paradox, The ship is THE ship of Theseus. But it gets seriously damaged, and all its parts are completely changed. So is it still the ship of Theseus?
I feel this can be applied to human beings too. We tend to box ourselves in our abilities and interests, i.e. I’m a goth so I wear black, I’m an artist so I must appreciate all art forms or own a camera. But these labels are given by society.
You can switch from someone who cares about appreciating art to a scientist on the verge of a new discovery. It’s just down to how we humans have been wired. We are a springboard for evolution, we can become anything. Limiting ourselves due to abilities or interests will not only close us to new discoveries but waste our potential.
Obviously, this can depress you. I’ve been doing stuff all my life, am I really making my decisions or is something else influencing my tastes and pushing me towards a certain pattern?
Or forget what I said, I’m rambling.
Ironyandfolly.
