Well,
certainly, if you have such a document, just have it. You may have
even several documents certifying several your identities. Yes. Why
not? There are people who maintain that “I” consists of many
persons – well, of several persons, it doesn't matter if the number does or does not matter – and each of these smaller
“I”s (let me write “i” to make things easier and more clear)
should have its (or i's) own document. This is very interesting
concept. “i”s can have either a diachronic aspect (i-past,
i-present, i-future...) or a synchronic or a synchronic-space aspect (i-internal,
i-external, i-as-i-seem-to-be, i-social, i-familial, i-individual...) The
phenomenon of bilocation or staying simultaneously in two places,
even quite distant, seems nothing special or extraordinary when
analysed and seen from this perspective. We could even discuss the
phenomenon of multilocation. However both phenomena would demand of
“i”s a significant autonomy enabling them to act separately and
independently. It is not so sure whether the autonomy of such range
might be possible. Could the cube's faces and the cube be separated
without annihilating the cube itself? There
are quite a lot of people who think, who are convinced, they have
been transformed and now they are someone else than they were before,
so any document issued before the transformation certifies the
identity of someone else and that is why there is a need to have a
new document issued after the transformation. Surely, there are
various kinds of transformations, some of them are complete and
total, while the others are but partial and then somebody transformed
partially is somebody else only partially and partially the same as
was before. Well, but is a complete and total transformation
possible? A butterfly is something really different than a
caterpillar, however both are made of the same material. It looks
like making a table from an old cupboard – you are sitting at the
table without even the slightest idea it might be a cupboard in the
past while the planks and boards are exactly the same. Not all
transformations are abrupt, sudden, unexpected (or expected),
violent, spectacular. We keep transforming ourselves all the time.
Slowly and steadily. Well, in fact every day we wake up as somebody
else than the one who went to bed, however the difference is
unnoticeable (or almost unnoticeable – or sometimes it's noticeable
easily provided that we still preserved the abilities to notice
anything). Although it is very very difficult to distinguish
yesterday-me from today-me, it is not that hard to distinguish
last-year-me from last-week-me ..... Although it is so easy to
distinguish remote-past-me from present-me, it's really a problem to
recognize remote-past-me as present-me, as myself. I'm afraid we
usually pretend we recognize ourselves while in fact we are deeply
astonished and upset and confused when somebody is trying to convince
us the strange looking guy in the picture is identical with the not
strange looking guy holding the picture. We are pondering how we
could do things so bizarre – undoubtedly we wouldn't do such things
now. Let's think about some legislative consequences. For example: a
lawyer could maintain, quite legitimately and with good reasons, that
the one who committed the crime is somebody else than (not identical
with) the one in the dock. For example: if someone wrote the last
will ten years before his death the one indicated as a heir to his
wealth does not exist now – the one who exists now and who maintain
that he is the one indicated as a heir to this wealth can be so
different than the one mentioned in the last will (for example: he
could experienced a great transformation...) that most probably the
deceased would have never bequeathed him his treasure, not even a
tiny part of it. The examples can be multiplied almost endlessly, but
I think everybody can do this himself or herself or itself,
certainly if he or she or it finds such examples amusing – more
likely they will be quite gloomy and giving no fun, so it will be
just a waste of time. The time spared in that way could be used for
solving another dilemma: can a butterfly be charged with
caterpillar's deeds? The conclusion is that one should have not one
document but a big suitcase of documents. A trunk of scraps. Shelves
of sheets. Should bring here whole huge library. Files and archives
exploding with certificates, application forms, contracts and
diplomas. Caravans meandering endlessly. Columns of carriers winding
and winding and winding up to the horizon..... These documents will
need authentications – certificates certifying that the
certifications are genuine. However these certificates will also need
authentication. We need to be vigilant – a forgery can happen
everywhere and at any time..... Well, but if someone was disgusted
with endless gathering piles of useless scraps, one could make those
needed and necessary documents and certificates by oneself. Such
documents and certificates will be genuine with no doubt and no
forgery could happen. Such documents and certificates would tell
quite a lot about the state of mind of their producer. A handmade
passport would be with no doubt more interesting than a passport
printed in millions of copies and distinguishable form all other
copies only with a photo – but this is sort of truth in the case of
us: we are not so distinguishable from each other as we think and
expect ...... Anyway, please do not expect either, there's any
downloadable template here. You are not that lazy if you have reached this
very place.