20251001_TheTrueShip_pen

The Ship of Theseus is one of the most thought-provoking thought experiments in Greek philosophy. Here's my perspective;

A ship manned by the mythical king Theseus becomes weathered over time. Hence, parts of the ship are slowly replaced with newer, identical components. While Theseus's men ensure to keep the ship's form and function the same, there's a point where all parts of the ship, its constituent matter, have been replaced.
Now a question arises; in the absence of the original ship of Theseus, does this fully repaired version remain the true ship?

Much later, the English philosopher Thomas Hobbes added an extra layer to this exercise by raising another scenario, by supposing that all the worn out parts of the first ship are used to construct a new one. In this case, we now have ourselves a second ship identical in both matter and form to the first.
Now, does the second ship still represent the true ship of Theseus or is it something new altogether?

Both scenarios result in a paradox, as expertly illustrated in the TV show WandaVision, with the dialogue between the two Visions.
"Neither is the true ship. Both are the true ship."

This is an important point to remember in terms of identity dynamics and how it's applicable in all of our lives. How so?

We learn that a sum of parts can never be equated to a whole, nor can a series of parts to a whole sum.

  1. Knowing the constituents of a party doesn't imply that I know the party as a whole. Can the party leader represent the party in all of its thought, word and deed?
  2. When a war is fought between two races for more than a century, and with the passing of every generation that keeps the fight alive, is it still the same war or is it growing bigger with each battle?
  3. When
    If so, can we ever identify where one part ended and the other began?

Maybe there are particular points in time where both the repaired ship and the new ship cease to be true to their origins. But computing those points are an undeniably interpretative activity, depending on both the mindset of the computer and the available information. And let's not even get started with the missing data.

With this context, the only thing to contemplate are the questions.

For now, the only thing to be done
is to keep searching
for the truest ship.