:
Let's say that Jim has a car, and he allows you to make upgrades to it. Eventually, you switch out every piece to make it superior, including the body and the engine. Is it still Jim's car, or is it now yours since you bought all of the parts?
I know that isn't actually what the thought exercise is about, but I'm trying to make it relevant to MoxCo.
|
Theseus' boat is really just an exercise of human's identifying and naming objects.
What about Jim's car makes it Jim's car? If I remove the muffler from Jim's car because I think it sounds better is it still Jim's car?
As of yesterday the muffler was an attribute and component of the car that I coined as Jim's yesterday.
And we could get even more particular. If scratch a centimetre of paint of Jim's car it's now different to the car that I previously identified as Jim's. and we could get even more specific until we get down to the molecular structure of the car which is of course constantly changing.
But to your original question, if I replace absolutely everything is it still the same car? No, of course not. It retains noting from its original composition.