Let’s Talk: The Ship of Theseus

I was riveted by the discussion between Vision and White Vision, even though this was Vision’s way of saving himself or at least giving him time to think while he distracted the other Vision. But this conversation begs the question, “Is a patty something or nothing?”

It’s funny every time because Ed does have a point but does Vision? So the Ship of Theseus is a thought experiment used in the metaphysics of identity and challenges the idea of the authenticity of an object.

There is this ship that belonged to Theseus and after awhile, whoever is in charge of caring for the ship replaces the rotting boards with new boards. When all those rotted boards have been replaced, is that ship still the Ship of Theseus? Personally, I said no. That ship is now a replica because the original pieces of that ship are now gone.

The other side of this thought experiment is as follows: Take that same ship and just replace the rot in the boards instead of an entire board. Is it still the Ship of Theseus? I say that this ship is still the Ship of Theseus because original pieces of the ship are still apart of the ship. However, I can see how someone could say that this is no longer the Ship of Theseus.

Now, let’s go back to Vision. Which Vision is the real Vision? I say that White Vision is the true Vision and here is why. Does the Mind Stone make Vision? Think about it. At the end of the episode, the Vision Wanda created unlocked all the past memories of the original Vision and he has original pieces of Vision. The copy of Vision in the anomaly is only a piece of Vision. I feel like we give the Mind Stone more power over Vision than it really has. I also question the power of the Mind Stone as it relates to Wanda and her love for Vision but that’s another post entirely.

What do you think? Who is the true Vision? Which ship is the true Ship of Theseus? Is a patty something or nothing? Was Ed right? Let’s argue!