The questions and the answers

[greyerrant]

[ A video post to the COMP network ]

[ Garviel stares into the screen for a moment his helm removed, his expression... pensive. ]

What defines humanity? At what point is someone so altered they are no longer human, and what emotions can we lose before are are not even remotely humane? I am curious.

Comments

[epicbraille]

In the broadest possible sense, humanity could be defined as the human race itself, or the study of human culture.

[ But given that second question, Snake is willing to bet Garviel wasn't looking for an answer like that. ]

Are you familiar with the Locke's Socks paradox? It's also more commonly known as the Ship of Theseus.

[greyerrant]

No, tell me about it.

I didn't mean to leave this tag for so long, so have some tl;dr and a 1/3 to make up for it

[epicbraille]

It works for getting dressed in the morning, so we'll start with socks.

[epicbraille]

Imagine you have a favourite pair of socks, they're comfy and easy to wear. But, oh no, you find a hole in one of them! You can't very well throw them away, so attached as you are, and so you patch them up with a spare piece of cloth. Problem solved, crisis averted, everyone goes on with their lives.

But what's this? That same sock has a brand new hole before you know it! Well, you get more cloth and patch the sock up again. Too bad this hypothetical life is a cruel one. Each time you patch up the sock, a new hole appears the very next day.

Eventually the material from the original sock is gone, replaced by a rogues' gallery of scrap fabric. Is it still the sock you once treasured, or is it something new altogether?

[epicbraille]

The Ship of Theseus is rather similar.

Swap the holes and patches for broken and repaired ship parts and it's the same question; would it still be the Ship of Theseus once all the old and broken parts have been replaced with new ones? And what if a second ship was built out of the damaged parts, which would be the true Ship of Theseus?

In a way, it's a lot like your question of humanity and emotions. Don't you think?

[greyerrant]

Yes. I can see your point.

[epicbraille]

Even the worst people I've encountered held on to some shred of humanity, so I doubt it's possible to lose it altogether.

[ Philosophical debates can wait for another day, no doubt. ]

Why do you ask in the first place?