Identity Is Not Intrinsic – A Concrete Model Using Elementary Arithmetic

The Ship of Theseus puzzle asks: after replacing all parts of a ship over time, is it still the same ship? A reassembled version of the original parts is also presented. The puzzle assumes identity is a static, intrinsic property. This short note shows, using only elementary arithmetic, that identity is not intrinsic. It depends on the frame of observation.

Authors

Publication Details

Journal
Zenodo (CERN European Organization for Nuclear Research)
Published
2026-06-09
DOI
https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.20611495
Primary Topic
Computability, Logic, AI Algorithms
Type
preprint
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preprint

Identity Is Not Intrinsic – A Concrete Model Using Elementary Arithmetic

P. Phi
Zenodo (CERN European Organization for Nuclear Research)
Computability, Logic, AI Algorithms
preprint

Identity Is Not Intrinsic – A Concrete Model Using Elementary Arithmetic

P. Phi
preprint en

Abstract

The Ship of Theseus puzzle asks: after replacing all parts of a ship over time, is it still the same ship? A reassembled version of the original parts is also presented. The puzzle assumes identity is a static, intrinsic property. This short note shows, using only elementary arithmetic, that identity is not intrinsic. It depends on the frame of observation.

Zenodo (CERN European Organization for Nuclear Research)
Computability, Logic, AI Algorithms
DOIOpen Access PDFOpenAlex
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Identity Is Not Intrinsic – A Concrete Model Using Elementary Arithmetic — P. Phi · Zenodo (CERN European Organization for Nuclear Research) (2026) | TGRS Research Map | TGRS