The Man in the Photograph

My cousin shared with me an interesting point that he learned in one of his Philosophy classes. He said that technically we can’t look at a photograph of ourselves when we were younger and say that that is us. The basis for his statement is that we aren’t the same person now that we were then. Our personalities have changed. Our likes, dislikes, desires, knowledge, identity are all different. It is like that person is a complete stranger to us now. We have grown up and experienced life, and those experiences have shaped us into different people. So, technically the person in the photograph is not really the same person that is looking at it anymore.

Of course the flip-side to this statement can be argued as well. There are still things that are the same. For instance we are still made up of the same DNA. Supposedly our eyeballs are the same size from birth throughout our lives. There are certain inherent values that we are taught early in life that stay with us even as they shape and mold our identity and moral character. We still have the same family (If not adding to it.) and the same genealogical roots.

It seems the debate really boils down to whether you are viewing a person from their mental makeup or from their physical makeup. Is it the psyche that makes a person or the body? So, what do you think?