In the 2022 superhero film Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness, Wanda Maximoff (played by Elizabeth Olsen) completes the frightening transformation from hero to villain that she began in the Disney+ show WandaVision (2021). Now possessed by the Darkhold, a mystical book that corrupts the mind of those who use it, Wanda is fully unleashed as the evil and incredibly powerful Scarlet Witch. She can alter reality with her mind, and she is willing to perform unspeakable acts for the sake of her imaginary (or alternative universe) children. Yet through the film’s depictions of its villain’s many gruesome deeds, it poses a philosophical question about personal identity: is the Scarlet Witch actually Wanda at all, or is she now a different being entirely?
In a previous film column here (on WandaVision, in Issue 152), I articulated a concept I call the ‘identity algorithm’. This is the idea that the key to anyone’s identity is the unique decision-making matrix encoded into his or her brain activity through the combined influences of their genetics and their vast web of personal experiences. These two influences interact in complex ways to produce an individual’s unique thoughts and actions when faced with new situations.
Since one’s identity algorithm (a.k.a. personality) is always evolving and changing due to the continual impact of new experiences, you might expect this theory to conclude that the Scarlet Witch is Wanda, simply with an updated version of her brain identity algorithm as a result of her exposure to the Darkhold. Yet I do not believe this to be the case. I want to argue that the Scarlet Witch is not in fact Wanda Maximoff.
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Denne historien er fra December 2023 / January 2024-utgaven av Philosophy Now.
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The Two Dennises
Hannah Mortimer observes a close encounter of the same kind.
Heraclitus (c.500 BC)
Harry Keith lets flow a stream of ideas about permanence and change.
Does the Cosmos Have a Purpose?
Raymond Tallis argues intently against universal intention.
Is Driving Fossil-Fuelled Cars Immoral?
Rufus Duits asks when we can justify driving our carbon contributors.
Abelard & Carneades Yes & No
Frank Breslin says 'yes and no' to presenting both sides of an argument.
Frankl & Sartre in Search of Meaning
Georgia Arkell compares logotherapy and atheistic existentialism.
Luce Irigaray
Luce Irigaray, now ninety-two years old, was, among many other things, one of the most impactful feminists of the 1970s liberation movements - before she was marginalised, then ostracised, from the francophone intellectual sphere.
Significance
Ruben David Azevedo tells us why, in a limitless universe, we’re not insignificant.
The Present Is Not All There Is To Happiness
Rob Glacier says don’t just live in the now.
Philosophers Exploring The Good Life
Jim Mepham quests with philosophers to discover what makes a life good.