endsthegame (![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
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fandomhigh2013-06-10 01:10 pm
endsthegame) wrote in fandomhigh2013-06-10 01:10 pm
Entry tags:
Practical Philosophy, Monday
Because the weather hadn't gotten much better, class was indoors again today, in a simple classroom. The desks had been shoved aside and there were pillows on the floor as well as the ubiquitous bag of sandwiches.
"Sorry I didn't make it last week," Ender said, sitting down once everyone else in the class had arrived. "Fandom struck and turned me into something. I'm sure you're all familiar with that by now."
He shot them a wry look.
"I hope I won't be retreading anything Yeul spoke to you about last week," he said. Glancing at the girlif she was there, he added, "I'm thankful you were able to fill in."
Then he cleared his throat and said, "This island has a habit of plucking us from our beds and turning us into something else at the drop of a hat," he said. "Frankly, it's a pain in the ass at best, a matter of extreme concern and panic at worst. Still, it does bring us to one of the most classic of all philosophical questions: what makes you yourself?" His expression got even wryer.
"If someone changes some element of your history, does that make you a different person? When you inhabit the body of a cat or a wolf, your brains rewired for the occasion, are you still yourself? Or are we who we are only in the moment that we are, and then our personalities are redistributed by the flash of a neuron? If we're shaped like something alien, does that suddenly turn us into something alien to ourselves?"
He sat back. "Just something to think about," he said.
"Sorry I didn't make it last week," Ender said, sitting down once everyone else in the class had arrived. "Fandom struck and turned me into something. I'm sure you're all familiar with that by now."
He shot them a wry look.
"I hope I won't be retreading anything Yeul spoke to you about last week," he said. Glancing at the girl
Then he cleared his throat and said, "This island has a habit of plucking us from our beds and turning us into something else at the drop of a hat," he said. "Frankly, it's a pain in the ass at best, a matter of extreme concern and panic at worst. Still, it does bring us to one of the most classic of all philosophical questions: what makes you yourself?" His expression got even wryer.
"If someone changes some element of your history, does that make you a different person? When you inhabit the body of a cat or a wolf, your brains rewired for the occasion, are you still yourself? Or are we who we are only in the moment that we are, and then our personalities are redistributed by the flash of a neuron? If we're shaped like something alien, does that suddenly turn us into something alien to ourselves?"
He sat back. "Just something to think about," he said.
Re: Talk.
She drew a breath. "But -- I guess I think if you have the same brain and the same experiences, you're still the person you always were. Even if the person you are is a dog for a little while."
Re: Talk.
Re: Talk.
This was possibly the most casual way Bay had ever told her story, but she figured Ender could follow -- or ask if he couldn't.
"But at the same time, you can't just ignore it and keep doing what you were doing. I should have a totally different set of experiences, you know? I owe my whole existence to this other set of parents. So -- I'm me. But with this, like, shadow existence."
Re: Talk.
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Re: Talk.