Philosophy
Identity Over Time and Personal Identity
Quick fact
The ancient Ship of Theseus paradox—if you replace every plank of a ship, is it still the same ship?—is often applied to human identity, raising the question: are we our bodies, our memories, or something else?
Why this is interesting
You are not the same person you were ten years ago—your cells have been replaced, your memories shifted, and your beliefs changed. So what, if anything, makes you the same person now as then?