Thought Experiment: The Ship of Theseus

What makes you, YOU? Explore the Ship of Theseus identity puzzle!

The Ship of Theseus Today we are learning to understand and begin to analyse the 'Ship of Theseus' thought experiment.Success Criteria:⇨ I can describe the 'Ship of Theseus' thought experiment⇨ I can give an opinion on the key idea of the experiment⇨ I can identify some belief systems⇨ I can explain what these belief systems believe about 'what makes me, me'. Fill the blanks to demonstrate your understanding of the thought experiment Dave owns a wooden ship called the Theseus and sets off on a long voyage The trip is rough and bits of the ship fall off into the water. Every time the ship is damaged Dave takes them to George's shipyard and George replaces the broken wooden bits with shiny new metal ones. Every few months of his journey Dave heads back to see George and has any broken wooden bits replaced with metal.Each time the ship gets damaged more metal parts are added and so on and so on until eventually every part of the theseus has been replaced the ship is now entirely metal inside and out. When Dave gets home his wife she is surprised she wants to know why he's got a new ship. He says he hasn't.This experiment asks at which point did it become a different ship?This is made more complex, when suddenly over the horizon a familiar shape appears it's the Theseus, only made of wood. George has always wanted his own ship so rather cleverly he kept all the wooden bits that fell off the original Theseus and decided to rebuild it.This thought experiment gets us to think about the fact that throughout our lives we're born we grow up into toddlers then children and we keep growing into teenagers then adults. We continue changing our whole lives; we get a whole new set of teeth everything changes.The main question is this: If every part of us gets replaced, are we the same people? Why or why not? So, do you think it's the same ship still? The ship is still the same ship as it has the same owner. The ship is not the same ship as it is physically different. So, are you the same person now as you will be when you are 90? Yes! No! Explain your two answers: Use this information to complete the next activities Match the view with the explanation. Use the slides above to help you. Christians Believe in God, and that Jesus lived and died to reveal God’s love for you and his plans for how you should live your life following Him. Humanists Don't follow a religion and and say Humans are the source of meaning and shape of their own lives. Materialists A philosophical idea that the only thing which can be said to be ‘real’ is that which is physical Idealists A philosophical idea that the physical things are only real because they are made ‘real’ in our minds. Place these ideas in the correct place on the table, using the presentation to help you. Use the slides above to help you. Perspective Do we have a soul? Is the body separate from the soul or mind? Is there a God? Humanism No. There is no separate part of us from our body and brain. No. When one ends, all end. No. Life is shaped by us alone. Christianity Yes. Part of us is seperate from our body and lasts forever. Yes. There is a core part of us which goes on forever. Yes. God gives and shapes life. Split the difference between a materialist and an idealist. Place each of these items in the correct category.Use the slides above to help you. Materialists say... I am me because of my physical body and brain When the body ends, I end. "You need a body to be real!" Closest to the Humanist view. Idealists say... Physical things are only real because they are 'real' in the mind. Closest to the Christian view as they both say that the non-physical is 'most real'. "Ideas are what make us real!" What is one takeaway you learned? Extension: Read this article and think over these questions.Article: would a Materialist say about this cat? What would an idealist say?