“The ship wherein Theseus and the youth of Athens returned had thirty oars, and was preserved by the Athenians down even to the time of Demetrius Phalereus, for they took away the old planks as they decayed, putting in new and stronger timber in their place, insomuch that this ship became a standing example among the philosophers, for the logical question of things that grow; one side holding that the ship remained the same, and the other contending that it was not the same.” –The Ship of Thesus

Every 35 days the outer layer of our skin, or our epidermis, replaces itself. Our stomach lining replaces itself every 4 days, and stomach cells replace themselves every 5 minutes. Every 5-7 years our whole human body, every atom and every cell, replaces itself. So the question is with all these changes, and with all these replacements, are we truly who we were a couple years ago? Or even who we were a day ago? Like the Ship of Theseus, if we somehow had the technology (and time) to take all our skin cells, all our atoms, and even our brain (which changes itself every two months) and replace them, we would be looking at the same person. They’d have the same hair texture, the same nose, same eyes, and same body right down to our feet. Are they us though? That’s a question that many philosophers have had trouble answering. It really comes down to your views of self-identity, and where the line is drawn between something being new, and something staying the same. For example, on Theseus’s ship, where was the line drawn that the old ship was the new ship? Was it halfway through the planks being replaced, or a quarter way? It’s the same way with our bodies, when 3-5 years have passed are we truly new people or are we exactly the same? Of course, some may argue that we are different people; we look older, we have different memories, and different perspectives then we did before, but some may say that even through all the change, just like the ship, we are the same person we were.

Now what would make you the same? Look at a picture of yourself, and see a difference in everything. Your hair may be dyed a different color, or you may have gained or lost weight. You may even have lost certain things or objects in the picture, but you are still you. You are still the same person that you were with differences. We are all the same people we were, but we’ve evolved, developed, and found new ways to grasp at the ever changing world around us. The world changes, nature grows, and new things are found every single day, but we as humans continue to strive for the same goals, continue to do our same routine things. We want to change, be better than who we were; we want to not be defined by the mistakes of our past, and mostly we want to find our true selves, but we never change. We simply realize, and find ways that we can adapt. That’s not to say that humans not changing is a bad thing, because as we grow older, we gain wisdom, patience, and we gain a understanding of the world that we didn’t have before. We gain new insight, and because of this we are able to be the same people that we were before, just evolving and finding ourselves in newer places, and in better positions that we were before. We become better, and we become more than just beings on earth.

The idea of identity, what stays the same, and what changes depends on the person. For example, William Vietnghoff gives a great definition of how people assign identity: “Another imaginary scenario: Vincent van Gogh creates an oil painting that incorporates his unique style. It is sold to an art gallery where it hangs for a hundred years. A van Gogh collector finds it; the paint exhibits oxidation; the colors are not as bright as the day van Gogh completed it. But it is an original van Gogh so he expresses an interest in buying it. The gallery owner shows the potential buyer the papers of authenticity for the painting, but the buyer reads a note that states that during transfer to the gallery an area on the painting was scratched. A gallery employee was able to obtain tubes of the same paint used by van Gogh. The employee touched up the scratched area. The defect was hidden; the area repaired is not visible and not detectable even by scientific means. However, the buyer withdrew his offer because it is not “an un-retouched, original van Gogh. No amount of philosophical argument could alter the reality that it might be the same. It did not satisfy the identity that gave it value. The buyer assigned that identity.”(What are your views on Ship of Theseus paradox?, Vietinghoff) In this scenario, the paint exhibit had the original painting from Van Gogh, but due to the fact that there are scratches, and the paint is dull the buyer did not want to purchase it. This, in my own opinion, is how humans view themselves. Each scratch by heartbreak, loss, or failure. The dullness as we succumb to old age. All these are changes that make us feel that we are farther and farther away from our original selves. That we are these new versions, but really we are still the old versions of ourselves. We hold ourselves to old goals that we set when we were younger, we try to achieve the dreams our past selves set, we even have the same basic set of morals. That’s not change, per se, but just us growing. The planks on the boat may have changed, but essentially it is still the same boat. The boat is not defined by the planks it’s built upon, but how well it can navigate its way through rough seas, and uncharted terrain.

The world, in short, revolves around the sun, and not around the change that we as humans think we’re going through. We are simply beings placed on Earth. Our purpose here is unknown, our reason here is unknown, and the reason we own the very identity we do is unknown. All that’s for certain is that as we go throughout the earth we are the same. We continue to make the same choices based on our morals, and we try our hardest and aspire to be the best that we can be, but the only thing we can truly be is ourselves. The best thing to do as you go throughout the world, discovering who you are, and discovering how you react to the world is to not worry about changing, or what your identity truly is, but to grow. To grow at the pace that is best for you, and to remember that you are a small piece of a big world. You matter, but don’t let the world and all the noise around you consume you. Instead, grow to rise above the noise and commotion. Grow to be the very best you can be. Don’t strive for change, but instead strive to stay the same.