From: Harvey Newstrom (mail@HarveyNewstrom.com)
Date: Fri Dec 22 2000 - 22:07:31 MST
>From: "zeb haradon" <zebharadon@hotmail.com>
> > Is it still Thesius's ship? If no, at what point
> > was it no longer that ship? When did it lose it's "Thesius's ship"-ness?
>
>It is still Thesius' ship. If you want to know how, observe the workers
>replacing the decayed boards with fresh boards. If you want to know when and
>where, pay attention to these details. If you want to know whose ship it is,
>find Thesius' descendents and heirs. If you want to know why, you're a
>philosopher, and Thesius probably wouldn't want you on the ship.
I disagree totally. I think the philosphers are asking the exact
right question.
Is it still Thesius' ship? There is no right answer. The label of
"Thesius' ship" denotes an ownership relationship that is not
empirically provable. The concept of ownership is philosophical. It
exists, not in reality or by science. It exists by cultural
agreement, by legal agreement, by linguistic terminology, or by other
reference systems that we use for interaction between humans.
In law, for instance, we would have to determine what the contractual
agreement was for the workers to do all this work, and what they
agreed to return to Thesius. In all probability, the rebuilt ship
was returned to Thesius as his property and the rotting ship was left
with the workers as spare parts. Can this be empirically measured?
No. Is there a chemical test we can perform, such as DNA matching,
to see which is Thesius' ship? No. The question of nomenclature is
merely a linguistic reference system that we use for communications.
The question of ownership cannot be measured by science. It must be
logically deduced by linguists, lawyers, judges, and psychologists.
Whatever we end up deciding becomes the right answer. There is no
objective measurable ownership particles that will lead us to the
right answer.
-- Harvey Newstrom <HarveyNewstrom.com>
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