If your body very slowly and steadily morphed into an atom-by-atom identical copy of my body, would you still be you?

Discuss the November 2022 Philosophy Book of the Month, In It Together: The Beautiful Struggle Uniting Us All by Eckhart Aurelius Hughes.

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Davey Chijindu
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Re: If your body very slowly and steadily morphed into an atom-by-atom identical copy of my body, would you still be you

Post by Davey Chijindu »

I doubt it because, even if it were possible, your body is not transforming into mine in the same way that mine is transforming into yours.
Masedi Mabilu
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Re: If your body very slowly and steadily morphed into an atom-by-atom identical copy of my body, would you still be you

Post by Masedi Mabilu »

I believe I would still be me. It would have been my body that had morphed into an atom-by-atom identical copy of your body but my soul would remain intact as I do not believe it would have similarly been affected. My thinking is that there would be two people whose bodies are identical but whose real selves are different.
mrlefty0706
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Re: If your body very slowly and steadily morphed into an atom-by-atom identical copy of my body, would you still be you

Post by mrlefty0706 »

Another tough question. As a Christian I believe that if this happened the bodies may be identical but the souls would not. Since a soul is something that is not a physical organ or body part one has to have faith to believe a soul exists. Without the soul the morphed identical body would not be me but rather an identical copy of you. Time travel is depicted as a body being transmitted back to the past or forward to the future and the nano particles come back together as the person that traveled through time. I do not understand the process since I am not an expert in physics but I do believe it will happen someday.
Kirsten Schuder
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Re: If your body very slowly and steadily morphed into an atom-by-atom identical copy of my body, would you still be you

Post by Kirsten Schuder »

I think I would still be me because it's my soul but just in a different body.
Davy Ifedigbo
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Re: If your body very slowly and steadily morphed into an atom-by-atom identical copy of my body, would you still be you

Post by Davy Ifedigbo »

Similarly, consider two completely identical individuals existing separately in distinct realms. The surroundings within each realm would vary, thereby influencing the progression of each individual over a period.
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Surabhi Rani
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Re: If your body very slowly and steadily morphed into an atom-by-atom identical copy of my body, would you still be you

Post by Surabhi Rani »

If over the next thirty years, my body (including my brain) very slowly and steadily morphed into an atom-by-atom identical copy of your body (including your brain), I would still be me. I would not be you. I would still maintain my individuality in that case. We all are endowed with our unique selves which are eternal and imperishable. The uniqueness of my existence would be all the more conspicuous in the circumstances described above. All of this would occur only to prove that the core of my existence is unique to every other human being.
Anil G
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Re: If your body very slowly and steadily morphed into an atom-by-atom identical copy of my body, would you still be you

Post by Anil G »

If the brain is also morphed into identical copy of you or someone else then I presume that the memories are also getting morphed. If the memories are morphed into a copy of someone else then I would not be me.

If I know this thing is happening and in next 30 years from now I will be someone else identical copy then I will try to make the someone like me or be like me so that I can reverse the effect and before morphed into that person I will make that person be like me.
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Jaidyn Taylor
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Re: If your body very slowly and steadily morphed into an atom-by-atom identical copy of my body, would you still be you

Post by Jaidyn Taylor »

Perhaps my viewpoint on this question is too simple. Most of my beliefs and opinions stem from my religion. And I believe that we each have an individual soul/spirit that is separate from our body. Our body, even our brain, is just tissue. It doesn’t make up who we are, our spirit does. So if it’s just the physical aspects of our bodies that are morphing into another body, theoretically it doesn’t matter if it’s an atom-by-atom copy of you or whomever, I would still be me.
Dea Ann Bridegroom
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Re: If your body very slowly and steadily morphed into an atom-by-atom identical copy of my body, would you still be you

Post by Dea Ann Bridegroom »

I think Morphis is the change of a caterpillar to a butterfly. Same spirit with a new body and capabilities is what we can also expect for ourselves as we age, and life changes us.
Chimomaebuka Ejimchi
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Re: If your body very slowly and steadily morphed into an atom-by-atom identical copy of my body, would you still be you

Post by Chimomaebuka Ejimchi »

I think at the first stage, I wouldn't completely behave like you. I would know something was off with me. I might still behave like I would sometimes. But I don't think morphing into another person is possible. Even if it was, I would know something was wrong.
Akangbe Opeyemi
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Re: If your body very slowly and steadily morphed into an atom-by-atom identical copy of my body, would you still be you

Post by Akangbe Opeyemi »

“In other words, you always have been and always will be both me and you because me and you--in terms of the real us--are one in the same." This is entirely true. There will be no way to separate the me from you because we have indirectly become the same and traits, character and all we now have a way of balancing each other up.
Fredrick Felix Mnjala Maneno
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Re: If your body very slowly and steadily morphed into an atom-by-atom identical copy of my body, would you still be you

Post by Fredrick Felix Mnjala Maneno »

Essentially, even if all of my atoms morphed into a replica of yours, I'd still be me. The conscious is not physical, the body, the brain, the atoms so to speak are all physical and 'contain' the conscious which is technically 'me'.
Fredrick Felix Mnjala Maneno
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Re: If your body very slowly and steadily morphed into an atom-by-atom identical copy of my body, would you still be you

Post by Fredrick Felix Mnjala Maneno »

Essentially even if all of my atoms morphed into an exact replica of yours, physically I'd be you, but consciously I'd be me. The conscious is not a physical entity entirely. The atoms, which are constituents of the body, including the brain, are physical. So, in my point of view, because of my conscious self, I'd still be me.
Sondang Hotmauli
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Re: If your body very slowly and steadily morphed into an atom-by-atom identical copy of my body, would you still be you

Post by Sondang Hotmauli »

I write this to my future self:

Dear Future Self,

I can't help but think about the intriguing question at the center of our existence while I sit here and write this letter to you. Would you still be you if, over the ensuing three decades, our body gradually changed, atom by atom, until it became a replica of someone else's body? Would you ape them as well?

In the realms of the "Two Yous" explored in the book, the answer becomes multifaceted, expanding into four distinct possibilities. Yet, deep down, we both know the truth. We are inseparable. The real you and the real me are the same. Our identities, entwined throughout time, transcend the boundaries of individuality.

In this sense, if our bodies were to transform into an atom-by-atom replica, you would indeed be me, and I would be you. We have always existed as interconnected beings, sharing the essence of our being. This understanding transcends the limitations of space and time, connecting us through infinite past and distant future selves.

Imagine reading this letter from your past self, written by a version of you ten years younger. As you progress through the tapestry of life, this message will greet you, reaffirming the unity of our existence. Embrace it with the knowledge that we are intertwined, bound by an unbreakable thread.

Until we meet again in the embrace of time,
Your Past Self
OyeTimothy
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Re: If your body very slowly and steadily morphed into an atom-by-atom identical copy of my body, would you still be you

Post by OyeTimothy »

Absolutely, even if I were to assume your form, my core essence would remain unchanged because my consciousness is not bound by the atoms that constitute me. It would indeed be a significant shift, akin to donning a Halloween costume. Many of us go through this ritual annually, only to realize that we are not truly transformed into frogs or fairies, but rather enjoying a temporary change in our outward appearance. Throughout this process, our identity remains intact, and we derive pleasure from the metamorphosis, regardless of its duration.
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