The Ship of Theseus

“The ship wherein Theseus and the youth of Athens returned had thirty oars, and was preserved by the Athenians down even to the time of Demetrius Phalereus, for they took away the old planks as they decayed, putting in new and stronger timber in their place, insomuch that this ship became a standing example among the philosophers, for the logical question of things that grow; one side holding that the ship remained the same, and the other contending that it was not the same.”
Plutarch (Vita Thesei, 22-23)

I find this argument to be a very interesting one. Some of the philosophers thought that the ships were the same when planks were replaced, while others thought they were different. Ships were used in this example, but the argument can be applied to anything that grows. I personally believe that when a object, such as a ship, is remodeled the thing itself has not changed. It has the same core. This applies to human's lives in that when we do things such as getting a haircut, putting on make-up, or getting cosmetic surgery, we are still the same person underneath. You're soul (core) can never change, but if it did you would be a completely different person.

Being Stubborn vs Logical

Over the last couple of classes we talked about how certain people guard there beliefs. I believe that there are two types of people in the world: those who are stubborn vs. those who are more passive, logical arguers. Stubborn people will present there argument in whichever way they feel is right. Logical people will take the time to figure out which is the most reasonable part of an argument. Unfortunately I feel that in most arguments, logic does not win out. I think that more times than not the person who is the most stubborn and holds there belief to be 100% true will win the argument.

Sanitizing of History

I read over the "Lies my Teacher Told Me" article on Blackboard. I personally agree with the points made in the document. The first point mentioned in the article was that society's view of Christopher Columbus is distorted through the teaching of the American schooling system. We celebrate Columbus Day every year because we believe that he discovered the New World. In reality the Americas had been occupied by indigenous cultures for hundreds of years. The Vikings had discovered the Western world and these cultures way before Columbus had. The other "fact" we learn about Columbus was that he was the first to envision the world as round. The true fact is that since ancient times people have known the world was round and the way the Columbus view entered society is largely attributed to the 1828 fantasy "The Life and Voyages of Christopher Columbus" by Washington Irving. The third fact that is failed to be taught to society about Columbus is that he was brutal towards the Natives using slave trading and genocide. If society had been taught the true facts about Columbus, I believe we wouldn't be so quick to celebrate his life and dedicate a holiday to him. The other people mentioned in the article (Woodrow Wilson, Helen Keller, and Alice Paul) all have examples on how history is a chronicle of what the power elite decide to record.