You Are Not the Same Person You Were as a Child

Think of an experience from your childhood. Something you remember clearly, something you can see, feel, maybe even smell, as if you were really there. After all, you really were there at the time, weren’t you? How else would you remember it?

But here is the bombshell: you weren’t there.

Not a single atom that is in your body today was there when that event took place … Matter flows from place to place and momentarily comes together to be you.

Whatever you are, therefore, you are not the stuff of which you are made.

If that doesn’t make the hair stand up on the back of your neck, read it again until it does, because it is important.

Notes:

All your cells and atoms have been replaced since then -- this is not true, but it is partially true and food for thought.

Folksonomies: philosophy identity existence

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Chemistry (0.641719): dbpedia | freebase | opencyc
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Quantum mechanics (0.612311): dbpedia | freebase | opencyc
Matter (0.587035): dbpedia | freebase | opencyc
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 Growing Up With Lucy
Books, Brochures, and Chapters>Book:  Grand, Steve (2004-12-30), Growing Up With Lucy, Phoenix House, Retrieved on 2013-05-21
  • Source Material [books.google.com]
  • Folksonomies: anthropology


    Triples

    21 MAY 2013

     We Are the Ship of Theseus

    Ship of Theseus Paradox > Additional Support/Evidence > You Are Not the Same Person You Were as a Child
    We have had [most] of ourselves replaced regularly over time (with the exception of brain cells), are we the same person?
    21 MAY 2013

     Not All Cells are Replaced in a Human Body

    You Are Not the Same Person You Were as a Child > Contrast > Different Cells are Replaced at Different Rates
    Our brain cells are with us for life, contradicting the claim that we are completely replaced every so many years.