The Little Mermaid - The Mind And Body Problem Explained

The tale of The Little Mermaid, adapted by Walt Disney Animation Studios, follows the story of Ariel, the youngest daughter of King Triton who is inexplicably drawn to exploring the human world. Given the death of her mother at the hands of pirates, her father’s only command is to never break the surface of the ocean where she might interact with humans - a command which Ariel pays no heed to. As fate would have it, her heart is captured by mortal Prince Eric whom she rescues from drowning in the cold waters of the undersea. Motivated by her desire to be with him on land and spite for her father after destroying her collection of mortal objects when discovering her actions, she consults the help of the cunning Sea Witch Ursula. Through dark magic, The Little Mermaid sheds her fins for legs and becomes human. Yet she appears to maintain a coherent sense of identity. My love for Disney as well as philosophy inspires me to raise this key question: What constitutes identity the most : the body or the mind?

René Descartes posited the idea of substance dualism, where the mind (res cogitans) is a non-material entity distinct from the material body (res extensa). Through his famous assertion“cogito ergo sum” - I think therefore I am -  Descartes argued that the mind is the essence of the self and one's existence is rooted in one's ability to think and to be conscious.

This idea suggests that the self is fundamentally a thinking, conscious being rather than merely a physical body.Given that Ariel retains her rational capacity and self-awareness despite her metamorphosis, her experience suggests that it is the mind, rather than the body, that most profoundly constitutes identity. John Locke accentuates this idea, asserting that humans speak of the same oak tree from the sapling to the full-grown tree, though there seems little in common physically between the two. Therefore there must be some continuity that links our infant form to our adult form or in this case Ariel’s mermaid form to her human form: psychological continuity. We are the same person to the extent that we are conscious of our past and future thoughts and actions the same way as of present ones showing us, in his words, that “identity consists: not in the identity of substance, but in the identity of consciousness".

However, for the sake of argument, what if Ariel had developed amnesia during metamorphosis and had no recollection of her mermaid form? Locke’s claim would suggest that she is not the same person as she was before given now she is void of any recollection of her experiences. From an empiricist angle, our experiences are what shape us, develops our personality and cultivates our ambitions. In Ariel’s case, her life as a mermaid, her relationships with other sea creatures, and her motivations for becoming human are all parts of her identity that would be lost with her memory thereby rendering her a different person who would most likely lose the explorative and curious aspects of her personality. Therefore how can we argue psychological continuity is the most fundamental determination of identity? 

It is crucial to consider that humans (and in Disney’s portrayal, mermaids) are inherently social beings. The physical body acts as an anchor for identity, providing a consistent and tangible reference point for others to recognize and relate to an individual over time. You cannot isolate individuals such that their own recognition of their identity is what defines their identity. Humans are by definition social beings meaning that they interact and integrate within society. Therefore, one’s identity is largely given to them by other members of a community; as long as there is a form, one is recognised physically, not psychologically, as that is not something we can tangibly see or recognise. Ariel’s aquatic features serve as an anchor for her identity within her underwater world, symbolising her heritage whereas her human transformation replaces these symbols with those more aligned with mortal culture, forcing her to experience the world in a different way to prior, effectively altering her social identity and how others perceive her. This emphasises  that bodily continuity is fundamental in sustaining a coherent and socially acknowledged identity. The philosophical thought experiment of Theseus’ Ship accentuates this idea, noting that if over time, the Greek hero replaces each part of his ship with a new one, is it the same ship when he returns? Though perhaps not numerically identical, the ship objectively represents a distinct “sameness” to the Ship of Theseus due to the overall appearance of the vessel. Perhaps then bodily continuity is the most important factor of our identity. 

Yet if we standardise the bodily variable and for a moment imagine that Ariel was an identical twin. We know that two people who are practically identical in genetic and physical makeup cannot and do not share the same identity. Because there is something else, something beyond physical appearance that distinguishes us from other people. In the case of identical twins, although they may start with identical genetic and physical foundations, their unique experiences and interactions with the world begin to shape their individual identities from a very early age. As they grow and encounter different environments, people, and challenges, they develop distinct personalities, interests, and perspectives. 

In Ariel’s unique case, however, this is contingent on her bodily form. It’s her physical anatomy that determines the kind of experiences she has. Her mermaid form enables her to navigate the underwater world, interact with sea creatures, and explore oceanic realms inaccessible to humans. This form confines her experiences to the aquatic environment, limiting her exposure to human society and its complexities. Upon gaining human legs, Ariel’s physical abilities and interactions shift dramatically. She can now walk, dance, and interact with humans, experiencing the terrestrial world’s culture, social dynamics, and physical landscapes. Each bodily form dictates a distinct set of sensory experiences and environmental interactions, influencing her perception and understanding of the world. Therefore, whilst one may conclude for those who are distinctly human, mental continuity is our primary identity make up, Ariel’s enchanted metamorphosis is an infamous outlier wherein the state of her  bodily continuity defines her experiences and thus primarily constitutes her identity.