Wednesday 14 January 2009

#1 - The Ship of Theseus - Part One

We're going to start out today with one of the simplest and most original thought provoking arguments of all time. You may have heard of it in many different forms, but because it will probably carry the most relevance to western readers, I'll start with the version known simply as 'George Washington's Axe'.


You have an axe, given to you by your grandfather. Over the course of many years of use, the haft becomes worn (That's the handle, folks) - So you replace it. Then, you carry on using the axe, sharpening it every day until the head is beyond repair. You replace the head of the axe, many years after replacing the haft, and yet...

You can't escape a nagging feeling. Is this actually the same axe, anymore? The head's gone. The haft's gone. There's no part of this that your grandfather ever used - Or for the more apocryphal version, that George Washington ever used.

Hrm!

Is it the same axe? Let me know what you think in the comments!

We'll carry on with this one tommorrow.

Cheerio,
~The Thinker
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3 comments:

  1. Si's blog14 January 2009 at 14:22

    Hey, you got me to look up Theseus and his ship. Mythology was never really one of the things that tickled my fancy. Lots of other things tickle it, like misses, but not myths.

    If you have George's axe, you need to hie yourself to Antique's Roadshow. Maybe his spirit still inhabits it. But then he cut off a significant part of the British Empire. His spirit may be dangerous. Do you feel his presence?

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  2. Thinker14 January 2009 at 15:17

    George's spirit is actually a thoroughly congenial one, as long as I keep him topped up with a steady supply of port and buxom wenches.

    Ah, for simpler times - When rivalries were settled to the count of ten steps and a man didn't haunt another man for owning his axe.

    Or is it his axe?

    Now I'm confused.

    Thanks for the comment, Si! You're the first :)
    Cheerio
    ~The Thinker

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  3. Tigerlea14 January 2009 at 15:30

    I've had this conversation not long ago, and tend to disagree with the one I had it with. My view is as follows (altered slightly only because of our conversation):

    I'll go for the 'grandfathers axe' side of the view. If you had your grandfathers axe, and replaced the haft, it's still your grandfathers axe. If a number of years later, you replace the head, it is no longer your grandfathers axe.

    Whereas if you replace the haft, but following you passing it on to your son your -son- replaces the head, then it's still your grandfathers axe.

    My opinion is simply if the two parts are replaced in the same generation, it is no longer the same axe, but if it is replaced in separate generations, then it is the same axe.

    ~FL

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