:: Random Thoughts From a Diseased Mind ::

:: Monday, December 30, 2002 ::

Descartes wrestled with the question, in so many words, "what is the essence of a thing?" He presented a ball of wax and considered its smell, shape, and texture. He then proceded to allow it to melt into liquid form, losing all of the above characteristics and then asked "Is this still the same ball of wax I previously perceived?" I think the answer is "yes and no". Simply speaking from a physical, chemical point of view, it is the same matter. But that is all. It is not the same creation, and it is not the same entitiy any more than a Rodan sculpture is unchanged when melted down into a block of bronze. It has lost certain qualities of its self, and is therefore a different entity. Well then; if I lose a finger in an unfortunate accident, am I not the same person I was before? Or, if the sculpture is not melted down to a block but is merely scratched, is it not the same entity it was both physically and artistically? At what point of transmutation or mutilation does an entity cease to be the same entity that it was? Consider an ice cube sitting in a bowl of water at exactly thirty two degrees farenheit. The ice cube neither melts, nor freezes, yet there is constant change in the cube in that water molecules are constantly melting from it and freezing on to it from the surrounding water at an equal rate. The cube is in a state of perpetual change, yet it never changes. At what point is the ice cube not the original entity? I find that the only answer is that all entitites are always different every time they are considered. They must be reexamined by the senses using strict rules of examination and definition to avoid misrepresentation and misjudgement. Only in this way can there be any certainty in our knowledge.
:: Jim 6:48 PM [+] ::
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