Throughout the history of mankind, three little words have sent poets to the blank page, philosophers to the Agora, and seekers to the oracles: "Who am I?" From the ancient Greek aphorism inscribed on the Temple of Apollo, "Know thyself," to The Who's rock anthem, "Who Are You?" philosophers, psychologists, academics, scientists, artists, theologians and politicians have all tackled the subject of identity. Their hypotheses are widely varied and lack significant consensus. These are smart, creative people, so what's so hard about coming up with the right answer? One challenge certainly lies with the complex concept of the persistence of identity. Which you is who? The person you are today? Five years ago? Who you'll be in 50 years? And when is "am"? This week? Today? This hour? This second? And which aspect of you is "I"? Are you your physical body? Your thoughts and feelings? Your actions? These murky waters of abstract logic are tricky to navigate, and so it's probably fitting that to demonstrate the complexity, the Greek historian Plutarch used the story of a ship. How are you "I"? As the tale goes, Theseus, the mythical founder King of Athens, single-handedly slayed the evil Minotaur at Crete, then returned home on a ship. To honor this heroic feat, for 1000 years Athenians painstakingly maintained his ship in the harbor, and annually reenacted his voyage. Whenever a part of the ship was worn or damaged, it was replaced with an identical piece of the same material until, at some point, no original parts remained. Plutarch noted the Ship of Theseus was an example of the philosophical paradox revolving around the persistence of identity. How can every single part of something be replaced, yet it still remains the same thing? Let's imagine there are two ships: the ship that Theseus docked in Athens, Ship A, and the ship sailed by the Athenians 1000 years later, Ship B. Very simply, our question is this: does A equal B? Some would say that for 1000 years there has been only one Ship of Theseus, and because the changes made to it happened gradually, it never at any point in time stopped being the legendary ship. Though they have absolutely no parts in common, the two ships are numerically identical, meaning one and the same, so A equals B. However, others could argue that Theseus never set foot on Ship B, and his presence on the ship is an essential qualitative property of the Ship of Theseus. It cannot survive without him. So, though the two ships are numerically identical, they are not qualitatively identical. Thus, A does not equal B. But what happens when we consider this twist? What if, as each piece of the original ship was cast off, somebody collected them all, and rebuilt the entire original ship? When it was finished, undeniably two physical ships would exist: the one that's docked in Athens, and the one in some guy's backyard. Each could lay claim to the title, "The Ship of Theseus," but only would could actually be the real thing. So which one is it, and more importantly, what does this have to do with you? Like the Ship of Theseus, you are a collection of constantly changing parts: your physical body, mind, emotions, circumstances, and even your quirks, always changing, but still in an amazing and sometimes illogical way, you stay the same, too. This is one of the reasons that the question, "Who am I?" is so complex. And in order to answer it, like so many great minds before you, you must be willing to dive into the bottomless ocean of philosophical paradox. Or maybe you could just answer, "I am a legendary hero sailing a powerful ship on an epic journey." That could work, too.
在人類歷史中 三個簡簡單單的字 讓詩人翻開空白的紙張 讓哲學家步入阿戈拉 讓尋求者尋求預言 “我是誰?” 從阿波羅神廟上刻著古希臘警句: “了解你自己” 到誰人樂隊中的歌曲“你是誰?” 哲學家、心理學家、學者、 科學家、藝術家、神學家甚至政治家 都被關於自我身份的話題難住了 他们的假設各有不同 但都不能達成共識 他們都是卓越而有創造力的人 既然如此,得出正確的答案 又為甚麼這麼難呢? 其中的一個難點 就是身份持久性的複雜概念 哪一個你是問題中的“誰”呢? 今天的你嗎? 還是五年前的你? 還是五十年後的你? 而問題中的“是”又指什麼時候呢? 這週? 今天? 這個小時? 這一秒鐘? 而那一面的你又是問題中的“我”呢? 是你的身體嗎? 你的想法和感受嗎? 你的行為嗎? 這些模糊的抽象概念 讓人難以尋到回答的方向 這或許就適合用來 證明這個問題的複雜性 希臘的歷史學家普魯塔克 曾用過一艘船的故事來說明這個問題 為甚麼你是“我”? 故事中說道,傳說中建造希臘的王忒修斯 單手在克里特島誅殺了邪惡的牛頭怪 然後乘船回到了家鄉 為了紀念這個英雄事蹟 一千多年來,雅典人苦心 將他的船保留在了港口 並且每年都會重演一次這個旅行 一旦船的任一部分被風化了或者損壞了 那一部分都會被 同一材質的單獨一部分所替代 直到沒有一塊原配件存留 普魯塔克認為忒修斯之船 便是一個關於 身份持久性的哲學悖論的例子 一件物品怎麼可能在被全部替換之後 依舊是同樣的一件物品呢? 請想像一共有兩艘船: 一條是被忒修斯入塢雅典的船一 一條是一千年後雅典人乘坐的船二 我們的問題很簡單: 船一與船二相同嗎? 有人說一千年來只有一條忒修斯之船 因為船的變化是逐漸發生的 所以它一直都是那艘載著傳奇的船 儘管這兩艘船沒有一點相同點 兩艘船從數量來講都是相同的 這意味著一艘船和一艘同樣的船 所以船一和船二是相同的 但是,也有人爭論到 忒修斯從未登上船二 從性質上來講 他在船上的存在才是 忒修斯之船必備的寶貴之處 這其中是必須要有他的 所以,儘管從數量上來講 兩艘船是相同的 它們從性質上來說確是不同的 因此,船一與船二不相同 如果我們這麼想 這個悖論又會怎樣呢? 如果原船上的每一部分都被丟棄了 有人把它們收集起來 然後重建了原來的船? 當這艘船完工之後 不可否認地,這兩艘船都是存在的: 一艘停泊在希臘 另一艘在某人的後院裡 每艘船都可以被冠以 “忒修斯之船”的名號 但其中只有一艘船是真正的那一艘 因此,那艘船才是真的呢? 更重要的是,這和你又有些什麼關係呢? 就像忒修斯之船一樣 你是一個由不斷變化的部分組成的集合 你的身體、思想、感情、 環境,甚至你說的俏皮話 都是在不斷變化的 但不可思議甚至不合邏輯的是: 你依舊是你 這就是為甚麼“我是誰”這個問題 如此難以回答的原因之一 就像在你之前的那些學者一樣 為了回答這個問題 你必須願意深入哲學悖論的深淵 或許你可以只是回答: “我是一個在史詩的進程中 在一艘威武的船上航行的傳奇人物” 這也是一個答案