🏛 Plutarch / Thomas Hobbes·Life of Theseus·1st Century CE
The Ship of Theseus
The paradox of identity, change, and what makes you who you are
Original Copperplate Engraving · Atlas of Thinkers
SCENARIO & DILEMMA
The victorious warship of Theseus was preserved by the Athenians. Year after year, as the wooden planks rotted, they were replaced with new timber, until not a single original nail or beam from the original vessel remained. Meanwhile, a scavenger collected every single discarded old plank and rebuilt a ship in his yard.