Beyond the Ship: The Paradox of Theseus and the Relational Nature of Identity in Different Domains.

Abstract

The Ship of Theseus serves as a philosophical tool to analyze the relationship between material change and identity persistence in objects and individuals over time. This study, through an integrative literature review, investigated how the paradox illustrates the tension between structural transformation and enduring essence. The methodology followed the PRISMA protocol with data collection from the SciELO and CAPES Periodicals databases, selecting 27 original studies in Portuguese, English, or Spanish that articulate the paradox with concepts of identity and change, analyzed through thematic triangulation and theoretical critique.

The findings demonstrate that the paradox admits no singular solution but reveals identity as a multidimensional construct. Divergent philosophical perspectives—from substantialist approaches (such as Locke, who grounds identity in continuity of consciousness) to processual theories (such as Whitehead, for whom being equates to becoming)—propose distinct criteria for identity persistence, including functional continuity, autobiographical narrative, material integrity, and social recognition.

In practical applications, it is observed that the identity of legal entities, restored artworks, and human bodies with prosthetics is maintained through three interrelated axes: historical continuity (uninterrupted causal trajectory), essential function (preserved original purpose), and relational integrity (dynamic structural pattern). It is concluded that essence operates as an autopoietic process wherein transformation and permanence contextually coexist, establishing the paradox fundamentally as an epistemological instrument that exposes the relational—rather than absolute—nature of identity across different domains of knowledge.