At a time when we arrogate ourselves into believing that we are unitary
beings and we are so full of ourselves and our abilities..., the 2013
film The Ship of Theseus, which I revisited now, makes us think about a
few very basic questions:
- Who are you? Are you the sum of your various body parts?
- Can you really think you are an independent entity or are you truly a knot in the 'web of life'?
- Does someone else's organ in you (eyes for example) change every thing about you? Are you now the very same person? Are you somehow more plural now?
I quote the insightful opening lines of the film:
"As the planks of Theseus' ship needed repair, it was replaced part by part, up to a point where not a single part from the original ship remained in it, any more. Is it then, still the same ship?
If all the discarded parts were used to build another ship, which of the two, if either, is the real ship of Theseus?"
Simply brilliant, the message of the film, in terms of the questions it raises. The shots, the music and the sounds in the background... (Y)
So much more relevant in the context of Organ Donation day/week being organized, and in the situated memory of my dear younger brother we lost a few years ago, a few days before a kidney transplant procedure was due on him, on an otherwise-ordinary August (09/08) morning. Today (04/08) is his death anniversary as per the lunar calendar. My Achan and Amma are performing a ritual at their spiritual centre in the hope that his soul is at peace!
- Who are you? Are you the sum of your various body parts?
- Can you really think you are an independent entity or are you truly a knot in the 'web of life'?
- Does someone else's organ in you (eyes for example) change every thing about you? Are you now the very same person? Are you somehow more plural now?
I quote the insightful opening lines of the film:
"As the planks of Theseus' ship needed repair, it was replaced part by part, up to a point where not a single part from the original ship remained in it, any more. Is it then, still the same ship?
If all the discarded parts were used to build another ship, which of the two, if either, is the real ship of Theseus?"
Simply brilliant, the message of the film, in terms of the questions it raises. The shots, the music and the sounds in the background... (Y)
So much more relevant in the context of Organ Donation day/week being organized, and in the situated memory of my dear younger brother we lost a few years ago, a few days before a kidney transplant procedure was due on him, on an otherwise-ordinary August (09/08) morning. Today (04/08) is his death anniversary as per the lunar calendar. My Achan and Amma are performing a ritual at their spiritual centre in the hope that his soul is at peace!
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