Body Theory Essay

There are many complicated ideas held about the relationship between existence, or personal identity, and the body. One of these proposed explanations is the body theory. The body theory, in simple terms, states that a person’s identity is directly connected to their physical body. Therefore, if a person is in the same body, they are the same person. This includes many modifications to the body, depending on the breadth of allowance one is willing to give. While the body is technically constantly changing, the body theory makes exceptions for the process of aging, the movement of atoms and molecules, and the like. There are, however, limitations to what is considered the same person. These involve more complicated topics, such as reanimation

A body is an organic structure that changes over time but is still different from person to person. A person will generally have the same body for their entire life. According to Merriam-Websters dictionary, a body “the organized physical substance of an animal or plant either living or dead; the material part or nature of a human being.” The body is able to change, as it is a living thing as long as the base materials and overall structure are the same. In general, the body theory allows for normal changes to occur to the human body. These can include growing up or aging. This could be losing a large amount of weight or changing one’s hair color. Despite appearing differently, this is still the same person because they are in the same body. The same thing goes for very technical, more scientific, definitions of being in the same body. Even though the molecules are technically changing and moving, the atoms within a person’s body shirt from moment to moment, it

Unfortunately, most of these parallels relate to inanimate objects that have varying levels of personal touches associated with them. One of the most well-known is that of Theseus’ Ship. This analogy is such that there was a ship that had traveled to many places and went through many adventures, but over time had been entirely replaced, piece by piece. The question is whether this is the same ship as when it was first built (Cohen). These ships would be quantitatively the same. On the other hand, if there were two identical ships built, and one of the ships sank, many people would not consider the ships to be the same before or after one sank because there were two to begin with. One could say that Theseus’ ship was not the same after it was rebuilt because it is as if a whole new ship with the same qualitative characteristics was constructed. While both sides can be argued for, when applied to a person, the lines between the same versus being different blur even further. The analogy can be translated to a person that has had extensive plastic surgery, joint replacements, prosthetics, or even lost or gained a significant amount of weight. The person is still technically in the same body, but the person appears to be different than they originally were. Psychologically the person may also feel very different. There could be differences in self-esteem and confidence. There may also be new limitations or