Locke's Sock
Updated 2026-08-08
INTRODUCTION
English translation pending.
CORE DEFINITION
A thought experiment attributed to John Locke in the tradition of the ship of Theseus. If a hole in a sock is patched, and the patches accumulate until none of the original material remains, is it still the same sock? The puzzle concerns identity over time: whether identity rests in the material substrate or in the pattern and continuity. Locke used such examples while developing his account of personal identity, and the sock case is usually discussed alongside his labor theory of property, where mixing labor with a natural object is said to establish ownership.
SCAFFOLDING EFFECT
Reduce cognitive load
- Continuity check: ask whether identity lives in the components or in the pattern they maintain. - Rebrand test: when a company changes logo, product, and team, decide which change breaks continuity. - Property boundary: examine whether mixing labor with a shared resource justifies exclusive ownership.
Anchor fast decisions
Continuity of identity can be grounded in either matter or form. If matter is the criterion, gradual replacement dissolves identity; if pattern and causal continuity are the criterion, identity survives replacement. Most practical judgments use the second criterion, which is why an organization can change every employee and remain the same organization. The puzzle is useful because it forces the choice of criterion to be explicit, and because different criteria give different answers to the same case.
MINIMUM ACTION
In progress 0/1Practice this model in one real situation:
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Source support: Explicit
- en.wikipedia.orghttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ship_of_Theseusverified
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