The Ship of Theseus

 The Ship of Theseus 

What is it?

- The Ship of Theseus is a thought experiment. The story being, Theseus (the ship) was used by the youth of Athens to return from Crete had 30 oars. Over time as the old planks decayed, Athens replace the old planks with new planks. The questions, being would the ship still remain the same if the Athens had replaced every old plywood with a new one or if they built an entirely new ship that looks exactly the same as Theseus with the old plywood from the other ship. 

What do you think?

- I think it depends on how you would interpret "remaining the same". For instance, you may or may not have had a friend who "changed". Most would interpret it as they've changed "everything" about them, even the stuff on the "inside". However, some may interpret it as only changing the outside but the stuff on the inside stays the same (thoughts, feelings, memories, etc.). This I believe, links in with this thought experiment, as everyone could interpret "remaining the same" differently. Therefore, I wouldn't say there's an exact answer to this thought experiment as there are different ways to interpret the question. 

Does this relate to our human identity? How so?

- I believe it can relate to our human identity. What I mean by that is how someone interprets 'human identity'. Do they interpret as existing as humans? Or do they interpret it as existing as some sort of creatures called "humans"? Again, as I've said before, there are so many ways to interpret a question. Even the question above can have so many interpretations and answers.