[vichu]

I viewed those questions as a play on the Ship of Theseus.

If the ship is completely destroyed and a perfect replica rebuilt elsewhere, is it the same ship? Almost certainly not.

If the ship is slowly replaced over time, is it the same ship? As a matter of form or psychological continuity as posited in the question, almost certainly.

[sunaurus]

Why do you think those two questions have different answers? For me, the only logical option is that both questions must have the same answer (regardless of what your answer is).

[vichu]

I don't follow your logic. How would constructing a new ship from new materials ever count as being the same as the original ship?

At least in the Ship of Theseus paradox, there is the case where you take the old replaced parts and construct a ship from those parts - which is an interesting question, is it the original ship? In this case, the only thing consistent about the ship is the design. Take mass manufactured goods then - are they the same article because the have the same materials?

[sunaurus]

> How would constructing a new ship from new materials ever count as being the same as the original ship?

If it's a perfect replica (as you said in your original comment) then by what parameters is it different from the original ship? Sure, cooordinates might be different, but cooridnates can change. If the exact replica switches places with the original, then even that difference would disappear.

By the way, I am strictly speaking about this topic in the context of the thread we are in. If a replica is built according to exact blueprints of a snapshot of the original (and assuming no mistakes are made), then why would the result be any different than just replacing one part on the original with an replica part made according to exact blueprints of a snapshot of the original part?