I did not know that there were frogs hatched as terrestrial quadrupeds. The variety of nature is endless and endlessly fascinating. A human can (theorically) have all its parts replaced and still be the same human through the continuity of consciousness. I presume memory provides the same continuity in animals less conscious than ourselves (less self conscious?). But what of things? Many of the devices I count on day to day have parts replaced even if not all the parts have been replaced yet. Are they the same? Is the river that is always different still the same river? Or is this just another example of "incompleteness" such as exists in mathematics?
As for replacing the boards on the ship, the ship has no awareness, so the ship doesn't care. It's up to us to decide if we are seeing a new ship, or the old ship. I think it can be both at once.
I've restored my old Victorian house. It is partly of the people of a century ago, and party of me. It is neither one nor the other, but both.
"We do not have to learn an entirely new way of being—to breathe air, to hop, to hunt with our tongues." On the contrary, I insist that we do. As a baby makes its way from life in utero to the outside world, it must indeed learn to breathe air (and its blood circulation changes) and getting nourishment through nursing rather than through the umbilical cord could be considered a form of to "hunting with its tongue." Granted, it has been practicing as best it could pre-birth, and the transition happens very quickly. (The hopping part takes longer.)
Very much related to Eva's explorations as well, I loved this piece of yours – I think of the Theseus ship quite a bit, and I defer to somewhat of a Platonic answer to the question: that the schema or design of the ship is immortal and thus the same, however well the craftsmen adhere to that—remains a debate I'd imagine! And so while our bodies turn over, cell by cell over the decades, what is the "schema of our soul" so to speak? And what meta(physical/phoric) metamorphoses occur to that end? So many meta's!
Lastly and on that note of "soul", as I'm sure ya'll know, the Ise-Jingu Shinto shrine is rebuilt every 20 years, and has been carefully reconstructed by a lineage of craftsmen 62 times to date. I think the next build will be undertaken in 2033. https://www.isejingu.or.jp/en/pdf/soul-of-japan.pdf
I did not know that there were frogs hatched as terrestrial quadrupeds. The variety of nature is endless and endlessly fascinating. A human can (theorically) have all its parts replaced and still be the same human through the continuity of consciousness. I presume memory provides the same continuity in animals less conscious than ourselves (less self conscious?). But what of things? Many of the devices I count on day to day have parts replaced even if not all the parts have been replaced yet. Are they the same? Is the river that is always different still the same river? Or is this just another example of "incompleteness" such as exists in mathematics?
Isn't it delightful that reality is stranger than fiction?
As for replacing the boards on the ship, the ship has no awareness, so the ship doesn't care. It's up to us to decide if we are seeing a new ship, or the old ship. I think it can be both at once.
I've restored my old Victorian house. It is partly of the people of a century ago, and party of me. It is neither one nor the other, but both.
"We do not have to learn an entirely new way of being—to breathe air, to hop, to hunt with our tongues." On the contrary, I insist that we do. As a baby makes its way from life in utero to the outside world, it must indeed learn to breathe air (and its blood circulation changes) and getting nourishment through nursing rather than through the umbilical cord could be considered a form of to "hunting with its tongue." Granted, it has been practicing as best it could pre-birth, and the transition happens very quickly. (The hopping part takes longer.)
Very nicely done
Thank you
Dear Heather, if you haven't already – check out this book and I'd love to get your (and Bret's) thoughts on some of Eva's epigenetic theses here: https://direct.mit.edu/books/book/2267/Evolution-in-Four-DimensionsGenetic-Epigenetic
Very much related to Eva's explorations as well, I loved this piece of yours – I think of the Theseus ship quite a bit, and I defer to somewhat of a Platonic answer to the question: that the schema or design of the ship is immortal and thus the same, however well the craftsmen adhere to that—remains a debate I'd imagine! And so while our bodies turn over, cell by cell over the decades, what is the "schema of our soul" so to speak? And what meta(physical/phoric) metamorphoses occur to that end? So many meta's!
Lastly and on that note of "soul", as I'm sure ya'll know, the Ise-Jingu Shinto shrine is rebuilt every 20 years, and has been carefully reconstructed by a lineage of craftsmen 62 times to date. I think the next build will be undertaken in 2033. https://www.isejingu.or.jp/en/pdf/soul-of-japan.pdf