How Is It Possible for a Person to Change Yet Remain the Same - Essay Example

How is it possible that a person tends to change but yet remains the same? Humans tend to grow with each passing day. They grow physically, psychologically and mentally as they experience the various curve balls that life throws at them. But many scholars and psychologist believe that the human body is not only flesh and bones; it comprises of various things that differ from person to person. A thing that although may change shapes but remains the same at the very core; this is called the human soul or the human nature which remains the same regardless of whatever happens or the circumstances that an individual might face. During the course of life; there will be many people who will meet you and will claim, “you have changed a lot” or “You look different from when I saw you last time”; when they say this, they might be referring to your gain of knowledge about the things around you, change in your faith or even change in your emotions and sentiments, they might also be referring to the bodily changes that a person might undergo but never would you have thought that the person who is complimenting you is actually commenting about your soul. It is true that a person does change substantially as he goes through various phases of life; but this is only physical. Humans see themselves as growing out of their old clothes, shoes and their other belongings. According to the views of the West; every human has a soul within himself which remains the same from the beginning of life till death; it does not transform under pressure and does not growing under the light of opportunity. A person’s soul is not materialistic and cannot be touched or felt but rather it is “immaterial” or as others might say ethereal. The soul of an individual represents who he is and who he will remain for the coming days of his life. This soul is the only thing that remains the same regardless of all the changes that the body endures throughout the existence of a human being. The soul can then be linked to other unsubstantial things like the human nature, his consciousness, personality and many other things that are intangible. A person’s consciousness remains the same throughout his life. Consciousness may also be referred to the memory of a human being. A person can never forget his manners, his etiquettes and most importantly his nature that is buried deep within himself. If a person is born honest and truthful then he will remain like that throughout his life no matter whatever hardships he might face in his life. A person who is shy will remain shy throughout his life, even though he may learn to become a bit outward as he goes through the different stages of life but at the end of the day he may be hesitant at first which indicates a person born with the traits, keeps those traits regardless of the situation. This is the reason why many philosophers have overlapped the terms nature, personality and consciousness in different texts. The reason behind this is that the terms have the same basic background with minute differences which may merge into one if seen from a different point of view. People meet their friends after a long gap of years and still end up saying that “Oh! You are still the same”. This simply confirms the fact that although a student might go through his high school and college years and may even get a job, find new friends and build new relations, the person will remain the same person that he is at his soul. There are many philosophers and scholars who support this by quoting and giving examples of how a person may change externally and may even develop traits and personality that may contradict his nature and his soul but that does not define the person who he really is. Rene Descartes quote about the soul and how it remains unchanged,” Thinking is another attribute of the soul; and here I discover what properly belongs to me. This alone is inseparable from me. I am- I exist, this is certain; but how often? As often s I think; for perhaps it would even happen, if I should wholly cease to think, that I should at the same time altogether cease to be” (Velasquez and Barry, 100). The philosopher is trying to depict how important his consciousness is to him; that without the existence of his thinking he would probable cease to exist from the face of the Earth. Descartes also thinks that it is because of his continuous thinking power that he has remained the same as he was ages ago. The quote mentioned is the basis of how people can make themselves immortal. A person’s power to meditate is how he can remain alive eternally even though his body has perished from this mortal world. Another philosopher John Locke tried to explain as to how a person might change but remain the same. Locke gave an example of a woman who had met an accident and forgot anything and everything about her previous life. However, when her husband meets and tries to make her remember that he is infact her husband, he feels that the woman might have forgot everything but she still is the same person that he got married to. His wife has the same habits, manners, etiquettes, hobbies even though she has no memories of herself (Velasquez and Barry, 101). This is only because she had her soul and personality intact within herself. Something that she wasn’t taught or had instilled within herself but actually got it since the very day she was conceived. Although there are many scholars who believe that the human nature remains the same and they change only physically but there are many who also contradict the statement stating that everything in a person changes continuously in each step of the way. This change often occurs due to development of characteristics that a person develops with experience and as he goes through the stages of life he may forget how he was when he was younger. Such as an example given by Thomas Reid who contradicts Locke’s philosophy saying that if a person is 30 years old and does not remember how he was when he was 10 then according to Locke the person isn’t the same person anymore because memory is an important that decides if the person has changed or not (Velasquez and Barry, 102). This criticism by Reid raised many questions regarding Locke’s philosophy and also changed the minds of many. Similarly some people might not agree with Descartes view about the human soul being unchangeable because a person’s soul is unseeable and untouchable, so, how can one claim that a persons soul hasn’t changed overtime. How can one simply perceive that over a meeting of mere 10minutes. This only proves that people are more considerate to a theory when they are backed by actual facts and figures and mere quotes and sayings are not enough. The personality of a Human being is changeable which contradicts the statement given by a few philosophers. It can be molded and shaped according to the situation or environment in which a person lives. A persons preference may change as time passes. A person may be born poor but as soon as he gets money he may get used to the riches and forget about his former self. Similarly if a person who was previously shy has developed some confidence may never be shy again. These are all examples as to how a person might change with respect to time and circumstance. According to Hume, for something to remain unchanged it has to be ‘unvariable and uninterrupted’ by the external forces of the world. Hume’s thinks that our mind is used to a continuous process of steps which are invariable and are not being affected by the environment and this is the main reason of why a person believes in whimsical things such as the inner soul, an inner self etc. Another reason behind people supporting the theory of staying the yet being changed is because it is in our Human nature that they believe that there is reason behind something and everything; whether it be materialistic reasoning or materialistic ones (Parkinson and Burke, 449). According to some, it is a mistake resulting from simple confusion that makes people fall for the belief that they are infact the same and have changed at the same time. If a person is asked about a pencil, whether it was the same pencil as he saw yesterday; he would say yes, considering the fact that yes it is a pencil but not thinking on whether the pencils color has changed. This is what Hume is trying to make people understand that people perceive what they want to see. But Hume has also somewhat supported the theory of things remaining the same and changing the same time by correcting what Locke previously said. According to him, the change depends upon the proportion of the change that has occurred and the lesser the change the more unimportant it is in the eye of the observer. But Hume has also failed to argue with Locke’s statement completely. At one point he seems to completely be poles apart from Locke’s thinking. On the other hand he is supporting Locke by correcting hi theory. Another philosopher William argues for the fact that body is required for a person identity and not the mind. He gives an example of two people having brain transplant but then this wouldn’t mean that the two patients would exchange their personalities instead they would still remain the same. He finally argues that if only brain surgeons could alter the state of people brain then the person can have his personality altered (Parkinson and Burke, 453). When thinking about how a person might stay the same and change at the same time is quite confusing for the human existence. Although it is backed up by many quotes and examples told by the great philosophers but the humans are left with nothing but mystery. People assume that they remain the same from day to day but this is only virtual and there are no facts and figure to prove it. If a Human being is meant to ponder on this fact he might just come to the conclusion that he is actually changing every second, every minute, every hour and every day of his life but virtually he may see himself at a standstill, at a point that may make him think that he still is the same person who he once was 10-15 years ago. Perhaps scholars have to dig deeper into this mystery box to see the true perspective of life and how one’s life remains the same. A person’s basic personality would never change. However, certain aspects of a person’s personality may be altered. References Cited Velasquez, Manuel G, and Vincent E Barry. Philosophy, A Text With Readings. Belmont, Calif.: Wadsworth, 1988. Print. Parkinson, G. H. R, and T. E Burke. An Encyclopaedia Of Philosophy. London: Routledge, 1988. Print. Read More