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LazyRaven01 t1_jeebp08 wrote

Semantically, yes. Ship of Theseus is, by definition, a ship owned/used by Theseus. Even if he swapped ships in a dock somewhere, he would still arrive in the Ship of Theseus.

If it is the same ship, I'd argue that no, it isn't, and it stops being one the second you switch the first plank. I am a different person than I was yesterday, just as I am a different person than I was a minute ago. A bacteria in my stomach just died and I feel marginally different than I did two seconds ago.

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astrongnaut t1_jeeg714 wrote

I like that answer I didn’t even think of it like that as a ship owned by Theseus. That’s deeper than my thought of it and I appreciate that comment

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3nc0der t1_jeeq0ml wrote

I partially agree, as obviously the ship is slightly different from what it was before the plank was swapped. I would have said, that the overall appearance of the ship, as well as it's function and all the other defining characteristics, stay the same. Because even one plank is swapped, it still functions the way it did before. That's also why I wouldn't say that this can be applied to humans or any other living thing. Yes, we are a different person each new day, but that's not due to a bacteria dying or a skin cell getting replaced. It's because of the things we learn and experience on that day and that's something a ship can't do.

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