endsthegame: (Default)
endsthegame ([personal profile] endsthegame) wrote in [community profile] fandomhigh2013-06-10 01:10 pm

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 girl if 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.
pulseof_life: (asleep (well no not really but shh))

Re: Sign In!

[personal profile] pulseof_life 2013-06-10 12:03 pm (UTC)(link)
Paddra Nsu-Yeul
pulseof_life: (watchful)

Re: Talk to the TA

[personal profile] pulseof_life 2013-06-10 12:06 pm (UTC)(link)
Yeul was there and looking thoughtful about this week's topic.
pulseof_life: (picking up a flower)

Re: Talk.

[personal profile] pulseof_life 2013-06-10 12:23 pm (UTC)(link)
"If you change your past," Yeul said quietly, "then the ripples will change your future."

Which she knew from experience.

Re: Sign In!

[identity profile] makemyownway.livejournal.com 2013-06-10 01:38 pm (UTC)(link)
Cade
pulseof_life: (green-eyed girl)

Re: Talk.

[personal profile] pulseof_life 2013-06-10 01:45 pm (UTC)(link)
"It might make you different," Yeul said slowly. "But I think deciding if you will be someone else is up to the individual."

Re: Talk.

[identity profile] makemyownway.livejournal.com 2013-06-10 01:46 pm (UTC)(link)
"Well, I wasn't in control of my body when I got bit by a karking gremlin," Cade said, "and whoever was had terrible karking taste in tattoos."
pulseof_life: (picking up a flower)

Re: Talk.

[personal profile] pulseof_life 2013-06-10 03:13 pm (UTC)(link)
"I could be wrong but in a hypothetical situation like this, I think so," Yeul said slowly. "No one can say what will make a difference to another person except for the person themselves. In a situation where it actually occurs, I think the reality of the answer would be more complex than 'different person: yes or no'."

Re: Sign In!

[identity profile] nothornlessrose.livejournal.com 2013-06-10 03:17 pm (UTC)(link)
Cassidy
pulseof_life: (wish on a flower)

Re: Talk.

[personal profile] pulseof_life 2013-06-10 03:20 pm (UTC)(link)
Yeul's smile went wry. "Then they are unlikely to know of any changes and will be unable to answer if there is a difference or not."
justbeingbay: ([daphne] seriously?)

Re: Sign In!

[personal profile] justbeingbay 2013-06-10 03:52 pm (UTC)(link)
Bay Kennish Daphne Vasquez
justbeingbay: ([neg] not liking you)

Re: Talk.

[personal profile] justbeingbay 2013-06-10 03:56 pm (UTC)(link)
"Dude, if I knew the answer to your question I could solve my entire life," Bay said slowly. "I'm not the person I thought I was until I was almost 16. Changing into a dog or whatever for a day is sort of nothing when you've been wrong your whole life about everything."

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."
justbeingbay: ([neu] talking)

Re: Talk.

[personal profile] justbeingbay 2013-06-10 04:10 pm (UTC)(link)
"I usually think I'm still me," Bay answered. "Same Bay as always. It's complicated, but my personality's what it is and 16 years doesn't just magically go away because the hospital confused which baby was which."

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."

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