SHIP OF THESEUS THOUGHT EXPERIMENT AND AN ATTEMPT TO ANALYSE IT

 A Brief Introduction to Theseus’ Ship:

“The Ship of Theseus is an artifact in a museum. Over time, its planks of wood rot and are replaced with new planks. When no original plank remains is it still the Ship of Theseus?”

As written above, Theseus’ Ship is a ship, and its planks are replaced with new ones. The question is that, is it still the same ship (Theseus’ Ship)?

And there is another scenario. The planks we got from the original ship are reassembled again, therefore we have 2 ships now. Which of them are the true ship?

Attempt to Solve it: “Group Allegory”

I believe that solving this paradox is possible by simplfying it. We need to analyse it first. The ship is a system, which is composed of smaller systems we call planks. Same scenario, and therefore the same paradox can be applied to other systems made of smaller ones. Social organisms are one of them.

Let’s consider a group composed of 6 friends. If one of them decides to leave the group, is it still the same group? We shall go a bit further, over time, all of the original 6 are gone, separated from the group. But obviously, their places are replaced by some others. Now we have a group made of completely different people. They might be talking about the very same thing, or they might look exactly like them, but they are not the real group.

We can think about scenario 2 as well. If people who left the group decides to reassemble under another group name, or place. Is it still the real group? I presume yes.

I see no flaw in idea of applying our “group allegory” to our Ship. It is made of planks, they are what makes the ship Theseus’ Ship.

Interpretating our Result:

It also may generate a new template that can be applied to systems made of smaller systems. We have a car in our hand. We suddenly wish to replace one of its parts. The car must have been changed. That may sound abnormal, but i think this is because we are used to think otherwise. When a worker leaves the factory, factory is not the same. When a fish is taken from the ocean, it has changed. When one of our cells die, we change. We always change, and that can be the philosophical argument.

Allegory does  not only apply in case of separating, it also works for changing. When one of the group members (original 6) changes its personality, group changes. Every atom changes and moves every moment. Therefore eveything becomes new all the time.

So Theseus’ Ship cannot be same ship anytime. As all other objects, ship changes continiously. My idea is that, no ship, is Theseus’ Ship. We can only name ship in only one moment.

“Neither is the true ship”