Day 48 of 57

Day 48: The Maluch of Theseus

In a garage in Kalisz, Kinga (A), a philosophy PhD student, watches her boyfriend Radek (B) fit the last new part to his grandfather's 1987 Fiat 126p, the tiny car Poles call the Maluch ('Toddler'), which he has spent two years rebuilding.

How to study this lesson 3 steps
  1. Read the situation under the title. It says who is talking and how they know each other, which decides how politely they speak.
  2. Read the dialogue line by line with its translation, until every line makes sense. Point at (or tap) a Polish word to see what it means.
  3. Spend at least 30 minutes listening to native Polish, for example from the Resources page. It doesn't matter if you don't understand it yet.

Dialogue

Audio recordings are on the way. For now, each lesson is the dialogue with its English translation.

Keys: E hide English · ← → previous / next day · point at a word to see its meaning

  1. A

    Ostatnia 艣rubka? Wymieniwszy wszystko, od ga藕nika po klamki, masz w gara偶u statek Tezeusza na k贸艂kach.

    The last bolt? Having replaced everything, from the carburettor to the door handles, you've got the Ship of Theseus on wheels in your garage.

  2. B

    呕aden statek, tylko maluch dziadka, rocznik osiemdziesi膮t siedem. Ogarnia艂em go dwa lata, wi臋c bez filozofowania.

    It's no ship, it's Grandpa's Maluch, a 1987. I spent two years sorting it out, so no philosophising.

  3. A

    Ju偶 u Plutarcha filozofowie spieraj膮 si臋, czy statek z samymi nowymi deskami to wci膮偶 ten sam statek. Czyj wi臋c to maluch?

    Even in Plutarch, philosophers argue over whether a ship with nothing but new planks is still the same ship. So whose Maluch is this?

  4. B

    Za du偶o kminisz. Ten sam kolor, ta sama kratka na siedzeniach, nawet naklejka z Juraty. Maluch dziadka, czaisz?

    You overthink things. Same colour, same check pattern on the seats, even the sticker from Jurata. It's Grandpa's Maluch, get it?

  5. A

    To to偶samo艣膰 jako艣ciowa, a nie numeryczna. Bli藕niaczki spod si贸demki te偶 wygl膮daj膮 identycznie, a to dwie r贸偶ne osoby.

    That's qualitative identity, not numerical. The twins from number seven look identical too, and they're two different people.

  6. B

    A ty? Przez trzy lata doktoratu zmieni艂a艣 pogl膮dy, fryzur臋 i p贸艂 znajomych, a dla mnie dalej jeste艣 t膮 sam膮 King膮.

    And you? In three years of your PhD you've changed your views, your hair and half your friends, and to me you're still the same Kinga.

  7. A

    Bo mam ci膮g艂o艣膰 pami臋ci, jak u Locke'a. Tw贸j maluch pami臋ta najwy偶ej drog臋 do mechanika.

    Because I have continuity of memory, as in Locke. Your Maluch remembers the way to the mechanic's at most.

  8. B

    Dobra, to teraz najlepsze. Dziadek zbiera艂 wszystko, co wyrzuca艂em, i z艂o偶y艂 z tego w stodole drugiego malucha.

    OK, now for the best bit. Grandpa collected everything I threw out and put together a second Maluch from it in the barn.

  9. A

    Czyli dziadek, pozbierawszy stare cz臋艣ci, odtworzy艂 wariant Hobbesa! To kt贸ry maluch jest teraz orygina艂em?

    So Grandpa, having gathered up the old parts, has recreated Hobbes's version! Then which Maluch is the original now?

  10. B

    Dziadek twierdzi, 偶e prawdziwy jest ten, kt贸ry odpala za pierwszym razem. Jego odpali艂, a m贸j, sama widzisz, nie chce.

    Grandpa says the real one is the one that starts first time. His started, and mine, as you can see, won't.

  11. A

    Pragmatyzm pokona艂 metafizyk臋. To co, filozofie, pchamy tw贸j orygina艂 czy dzwonimy po dziadka i jego kopi臋?

    Pragmatism has beaten metaphysics. So, philosopher, do we push your original, or call Grandpa and his copy?

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