A philosophical question of sorts…

How many (and which body parts) prosthetics would be needed to make you a different person? Most people have no issue with people with prosthetic limbs or an artificial heart. But what if you have both? Or what if all your bones were artificial?

What if artificial brains were a thing? Would having a prosthetic/artificial brain and/or head make you a fundamentally different person? Or what if your entire body EXCEPT your brain was artificial? What if you donated your brain to a different person? Would that person still be that person, but with your brain, or would they be YOU…and you had someone else’s body?

Or is it the idea that your brain is what makes you *you* and gives you value/identity an erroneous idea?

🤔

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helenS · 36-40, F

Your question was the subject of a heated philosophical debate in antiquity;
please read this article about the "Ship of Theseus":
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ship_of_Theseus
Today, we see it as a semantic problem, not a philosophical one.

Abstraction · 61-69, M

@helenS Yes, well spotted. I do view the question as different when applied to human beings due to my views of consciousness. Since consciousness is a disputed topic I also appreciate views that differ from mine.

helenS · 36-40, F

@Abstraction I understand that you see consciousness as the cornerstone of personal identity.

Abstraction · 61-69, M

@helenS A cornerstone. The human mind is the most complex structure in the universe we've yet encountered. The neuroscience is really interesting. So much to wonder about. Some posit it may be an example of strong emergence. Or... not.