This essay revisits authenticity concepts influenced by philosophy, neuroscience, and virtual realities, highlighting new identity frameworks.
This essay revisits the ancient Ship of Theseus paradox through the lenses of Japanese philosophy, Shinto concepts of divided spirits (wakemitama), neuroscience, virtual reality, and future human evolution. It argues that authenticity is not grounded in material continuity but in the continuity of meaning, relationships, and inherited patterns of information. From the Grand Shrine of Ise to AI-generated personalities and post-singularity civilizations, a new framework for understanding identity is proposed.
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The Great Imitation Museum (2026) studied this question.
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