Single Idea 181

[catalogued under 16. Persons / E. Rejecting the Self / 1. Self as Indeterminate]

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 Reference

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'?