You have a watch that you have owned all your life. In fact your grandad gave it to you, and his grandad gave it to him, and his grandad was given it by the Queen of Sheeba as reward for his most delightful of "services". Over the years almost all the cogs, gears and other parts have been replaced; everything wears out in the end.
Last week, without realising it, you replaced the last original piece of the watch.
One morning a questionably dressed and somewhat eccentric gentleman knocks at the door. It turns out he has been collecting all the watch parts that you and your family have discarded over the years. Perversely he has put them all together to make another watch. Your watch.
But it's not your watch! Your watch is in your pocket isn't it?
The question is: which watch is your watch? My thoughts can be revealed by clicking here.
I didn't come up with the best response, my friend did:
"Every cell in your body is replaced continually, yet you are you throughout your entire life."
In comparison, what I originally wrote is just gibberish:
The differences between objects and possesions.
The watch is just an object.
"The Watch" is just a tag people use to identify it.
The Watch is just a load of molecules put together in a certain way.
"The Watch", and what it has come to signify, is a mental interpretation of a thing.
"The Watch" has significance to you and has sentimental value.
So which watch is your watch? Well the one in your pocket, the other has never been "The Watch". Sure it's been parts of the watch, but the whole object was never "The Watch".
That's what I think anyway, if you have some thoughts then emails are welcome :)
Turns out I wasn't too original
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