Strange Questions No One Knows the Answers To

In this video, we explore 4 paradoxes / thought experiments that bring into question what it means to be unique, what it means to be oneself, and what it means to be a thing at all.

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[jayjohns]

This is one of, if not my favorite philosophy channel mostly because it doesn't focus on explanations. I respect the fact that it encourages you to think instead of telling you how to think

[J]

It never was the Ship of Theseus, really. The Ship of Theseus was never a 'thing'. The atoms that temporarily made up the ship are things. But the Ship of Theseus was always just an abstraction based on agreements and faith. And as an abstraction, it remains the Ship of Theseus as long as you believe it does.

[just_gut]

I'm wildly entertained by the fact that you said 'heap' so many times it started to do that thing where it feels like some sort of fake word.

[lauraschmittel]

In German, we actually have two different words for "the same", one for the particular and one for the universal. To me, the difference between these was very obvious before and I think it's very interesting how the language we speak affects the way we think about this.

[PC-dszk]

This is liberating, to know we are not what we identify as, as it is always changing. I can choose to be whatever identity i want without attachment, so why not be the best version of yourself?

[jubairkhan]

Vsauce, Exurb1a and pursuit of wonder. they just speak my lonely mind man. so grateful for them

[MrofficialC]

Well done. I wish I could think and talk with the level of detail and clarity you've brought to me regarding this subject and the ideas within the subject and with the same ability to stir wonder in the listener like you've done for me.

[THX-]

The paradox arises when we try to answer these questions using a series of premises that seem plausible, but lead to a contradictory or absurd conclusion. For example, one might argue as follows:

- One grain of sand is not a heap. (Premise 1)
- If n grains of sand are not a heap, then n + 1 grains of sand are not a heap.

(Premise 2)
- Therefore, no matter how many grains of sand are added, there is never a heap. (Conclusion)

The conclusion contradicts our common sense intuition that heaps of sand exist and that adding grains of sand can eventually create a heap. But where is the mistake in the argument? Which premise should we reject or modify?

There are many possible ways to try to solve the sorites paradox, but none of them are completely satisfactory or widely accepted. Some of the main approaches are:

- Rejecting Premise 1: This approach denies that there is a clear-cut case where the predicate does not apply. For example, one might say that even one grain of sand is a heap, but a very small one. This avoids the paradox, but it also makes the predicate meaningless, since it applies to everything.

- Rejecting Premise 2: This approach admits that there is a point where the predicate switches from not applying to applying, but it is impossible to specify it precisely. For example, one might say that there is a vague range of numbers of grains of sand where it is indeterminate whether they form a heap or not. This preserves the meaningfulness of the predicate, but it also introduces a degree of uncertainty and arbitrariness into our language.

- Rejecting the validity of the argument: This approach challenges the logical rules that allow us to infer the conclusion from the premises. For example, one might say that the rules of classical logic, which assume that every statement is either true or false, do not apply to vague predicates. Instead, one might use a different logic, such as fuzzy logic, which allows for degrees of truth and falsity. This accommodates the vagueness of the predicate, but it also requires a radical revision of our reasoning methods.

As you can see, the sorites paradox is not easy to solve, and it raises many interesting questions about the nature of language, logic, and knowledge. 😮

[town]

The ship of Theseus is not just an object, but an object in relation to a specific moment in time. The same way that the reenactment, although, using the same ship, is separate from the actual battle, it requires us to understand that anything past the original event, is not the same. Even the ship.

[soyburglar]

“This line of thinking follows from the ‘Theory of Forms’ developed by the classic Greek philosopher, Play-Doh...”

Damn, I’m 46 years old and due, in part, to channels like this one, I really do legit learn something new every day.

[ReynaSingh]

we are all unique in some capacity or the other. Everyday lived is a unique expression of our humanity

[DMON_KOR]

The art of overthinking, my favorite pastime 😂

[Gogunkergorilla]

I've already asked myself these questions years ago but I like to hear it anyway. I used to have a delivery business and would put alot of miles on my trucks and would frequently replace parts . At one point I realized that there were more parts changed out than were original . That's when I started to disregard miles and age as determining factors of the trucks condition. It no longer was a truck with x amount of miles. It was a confederation of parts each with their own amount of wear

[Cosmos]

"Ship of Theseus" this topic can be explained very well by this example: - Person A owns a mobile phone of Samsung all of it's parts got replaced to newer identical parts by time. Now, it will be called A's mobile phone only. So, The Ship of Theseus will be called of Theseus only no matter how many parts have got replaced.
And Theseus ship will be the second and new one not the older one because he doesn't have the ownership of the older one, the person who's known as "someone" who took the old parts and made a ship out of it is the owner of the ship he made.

[guysmith]

A thought on the ship of Theseus. Have you ever wondered the ships' name? Perhaps the story of the ship intentionally leaves it out. After all the ship is really just a ship. The thing that made it the ship of Theseus, was Theseus. After all, without his story, it's just another forgotten ship. In a sense, the captain "makes the ship." The thought experiment may in itself be teaching us that we are our own captains. You define yourself, you are what makes "you" at any given time. If that makes any sense.

[lakshyasharma]

Not just the content but even the background musical sounds are so marvellous ranging from all sorts of genre in a small video, cheers to that fellow back there too 🫡🫡

[dennistucker]

It is so easy to just consider a heap to 2 or more items in close proximity. I love the material and video overall.

[mattporter]

You could think of the ship of Theseus like a person. Over a number of years, all of the cells in our bodies are replaced, but almost nobody would say that you are not still the same person.

[SebastianDeery]

Consider its use. A heap is a heap when it requires a shovel to move it, a chair is a chair when it can be sat upon, the ship of Theseus is the ship which Theseus sailed.

[ReasonWithRainer]

Very deep philosophical question: what is what?