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Full Idea
We retain identity not by staying the same (the preserve of gods) but by replacing losses with new similar acquisitions.
Gist of Idea
Only the gods stay unchanged; we replace our losses with similar acquisitions
Source
Plato (The Symposium [c.373 BCE], 208b)
Book Ref
Plato: 'The Symposium', ed/tr. Hamilton,W [Penguin 1951], p.89
A Reaction
Any modern student of personal identity should be intrigued by this remark! It appears to take a rather physical view of the matter, and to be aware of human biology as a process. Are my continuing desires token-identical, or just 'similar'?