Historical monuments
There’s no doubt that the fire that burned the French cathedral of Notre Dame is a great tragedy. Even those of us who have never been to France (or Europe) have heard of and would recognize the iconic monument.
Whether you are young or old, at the very least you probably remember “The Hunchback of Notre Dame,” and that’s because the story has been depicted by Disney and by other filmmakers over the years (remember that the original story was published by Victor Hugo in 1831).
But rather than mourning the tragic incident that occurred this past April 15, let us take a slightly more positive (and interesting) angle by considering a philosophical experiment.
There’s a thought experiment in philosophy that is called “The Ship of Theseus.” Essentially it goes like this: Theseus had a great and mighty ship, which he occasionally repaired in order to keep it in top shape. But let’s imagine that someone close to him decided to keep each and every piece or “memory” that was taken out (sort of like a Hispanic mother, for many of us). Now, what if eventually every piece of the ship had been replaced, and we used the old parts to build a new ship? So we would have the original ship which had progressively been fixed, and also another ship which was built from all the original parts. Which one is the “real” original ship, the one with the original parts, or the one that was continuously considered the original?
This experiment is used to think about “identity,” and it applies to human beings as well. All of the cells that we had when we were younger are long dead, and many of the thoughts and memories that we used to have, have been replaced by others. So it is interesting to consider “what makes you, you, if all the pieces get replaced?”
Of course it is more difficult (and interesting) when it comes to human beings, but in the same spirit of “identity” perhaps we can look at the fire in Notre Dame as an opportunity to add another layer of history to the iconic monument. This is not the first time that the building has been renovated (and it was undergoing renovations before the fire,) and it certainly won’t be the last if we want the cathedral to last for more centuries.
So in the same way that heartbreaks and disappointments give us a chance to improve ourselves, perhaps we can look at this fire as an opportunity for the cathedral of Notre Dame to become stronger and more durable.
