Whether it is a childhood photo of you as a baby lying crumpled on your shelf or a hazy video clip on your Dad’s ancient camcorder of you as a six-year-old; displaying your moves in your primary school performance - many would see this, reminisce on the memories frozen in time and proclaim, “Oh! that’s me.” For others, the perplexing question could arise:
“Is the person in that photo really me?”
Several years must have passed since the original photo was captured, and in these years, your physical body has slowly changed. This is due to the cells being continuously replicated through the process of mitosis. After 7 to 10 years, most of the cells that make up your physical body would have been entirely replaced with the exception of neurons. Therefore, almost with a completely new physical form - what exactly is tying us to our childhood selves?
Many would concur that our thoughts, feelings, and aspirations form the building blocks to our sense of self. Despite this, quite a large number of people would say that their aspirations and thoughts have evolved since childhood. I can certainly say that my five-year-old self’s ambitions do not match my current self’s ambitions - perhaps because being a mermaid-fairy is not the most logical path in life.
Philosophers such as Aristotle have questioned identity for years and the idea of ‘numerical sameness’ and ‘qualitative sameness’ has been prevalent in their studies. Two things are qualitatively identical if they share properties. For example, identical twins are qualitatively similar since they share the same properties. It depends on one’s personal perception of sameness in order to deem two things - which may be ‘numerically identical’ - the ‘same’. Your childhood self and adult self can be considered numerically identical. Numerical sameness allows philosophers to employ a more mathematical approach in equating identity and self.
But can self be determined by something as tangible as a mathematical calculation? I asked some of my peers what they thought defined their sense of self and what tied their current self to their childhood self.
Tatum O’Keeffe, a Y11 student at HBS says “I guess what really ties my childhood self with my current self is the way I think. Although I have changed as I have grown up - the way I think has stayed consistent.
Ananya Unnikrishnan, a Y11 student at DCHS states, “My memories contribute to a large part of personal experience in life. It is what has defined my past, present, and future self.”
It is assumed that memories plant the roots of one’s self, and childhood memories make you who you are today. As you grow up, you gain more life experience and more memories, however, those old, core memories could still tie you to your childhood self. But what about in many cases of amnesia, where these memories are forgotten? Is there more to identity than we think?
Philosophers have debated about the ‘soul’ for centuries and its importance in defining one’s sense of self. Different religions and philosophers such as Aristotle and Socrates have different interpretations of the soul and its connection to self and identity. Aristotle’s view on self was built upon the idea that a human being is a composite of body and soul and the soul cannot be separated from the body. Hindus believe that the soul is a non-physical segment of a being that lives on after the physical body has died and it enters a new body through the process of reincarnation. Christians also believe that the soul lives on after the death of the physical body; most Christians believe that the soul is judged by God in the afterlife where it then enters Heaven or Hell. Neurologists have also done extensive research on the role the brain plays in defining personal identity.
So, is it the soul that ties our childhood self with our current self? Is it our thoughts and memories and experiences captured in our brain? Or, is it something that is beyond the grasp of our current understanding which humans have not yet unravelled?
