Philosophy for Auto-Mechanics

The issue of Vern’s Volvo depends on the idea of continuity. The parts were replaced over a span of twenty years, which is a very slow process. After each part is removed, another identical part replaces it. The part that is removed loses its essence of Vern’s Volvo, while the part that replaces it adopts the essence of Vern’s Volvo. This means that after each switch, the car retains its essence, which means the car Vern has been driving for twenty years is the real Volvo. The pile of parts Grace has creepily kept is exactly that, just a pile of old Volvo parts. All of them have lost the essence of Vern’s Volvo, which is why they have no connection to the Volvo from which they originated.

Even if Grace reconstructed the Volvo with all of the old parts, it would not be Vern’s Volvo; it would simply be a car. The reconstruction of all of these parts will not magically give them meaning, which is why the car could not be the original Volvo.

The presence of continuity in this process is extremely important. If Grace deconstructed Vern’s car in a matter of hours and rebuilt it with new parts, it would be a new car. The only way a rapid change would enable the car to retain its original essence is by maintaining a key aspect of the car. Whether it is the engine, the seats, the dashboard, or the doors, as long as one very important part of the car remains, it will still be Vern’s Volvo after the transformation. If Grace built a new Volvo out of all of the old parts with the exception of the one piece remaining in the old car, this car might be Vern’s Volvo. It depends on which car has the most important parts of the original car. If one has the engine, but the other has the doors, dashboard, and seats, then the latter would be the original. The idea of essence is very important in determining which car is the original Vern’s Volvo.