The old tale of the Ship of Theseus gives birth to many questions about the true nature of identity. Again, questions remain a much relevant part of philosophical debates. A ship that underwent several repairs throughout its lifetime to the point where no part of it belongs to the initial form, yet the ship retains its identity as the Ship of Theseus. Rationality would tell us it’s the same ship – but is it?
Humans themselves go through a process of constant repairs throughout their life, gradually replacing every cell from our bodies as we grow and change in appearance. Yet we feel and remain the same person. As Cartesian dualism proposes – it seems that the mind is what forms identity and retains it – or simply retains our memory, experience, and knowledge. However, if one was to make a clone and transfer our thoughts and memories to it, it might externally look the same, it might also feel the same, but inherently the person would never be able to identify as the clone or consider the clone as themselves.
