J.J. Sylvia IV, Heath Stevens
In Lewis, C. and Smithka, P. (Eds.), More Doctor Who and Philosophy. (pp. 291-300) Chicago and La Salle, IL: Open Court.
Publication year: 2015

Abstract

In this chapter we explore the possibility of meeting one’s self through time travel as a metaphor of the digital footprint one leaves through his or her use of social media. Nietzsche says that one is always a different person. Whether or not we accept that in a literal, ontological sense, we can all agree that we as adults tend to think about the world differently than we did when we were children. Now, thanks to sites like Facebook, Twitter, and Blogger, many of the thoughts and feelings of our former selves are easily captured and stored indefinitely on the Internet, which allows us to go back and glimpse versions of our former selves. Do these resources allow me to go back and experience myself, not as myself but as Other?

For philosopher Gilles Deleuze, the experience of the Other is an expression of a virtual possible world which allows one to see another side to the events that she lives. Learning, for Deleuze, requires a shock, and our encounters with Others can potentially offer just such a shock. In order to truly learn, though, we must not imitate the Other, but instead enter an assemblage with Other, bringing together two possible ways of expressing the world. Along with Deleuze, we explore the concept of Other through several existentialist philosophers.  

In addition to examples of the Doctor meeting other versions of himself, this type of assemblage and learning is demonstrated by The Girl Who Waited. The Girl meets Amy, an earlier version of herself. In her own past she refused to help herself be rescued by the Doctor and Rory, but through the creation of an assemblage of Amy and The Girl and the shock of this meeting, The Girl becomes worthy of the events happening and makes the ethical decision to help rescue Amy.

Though we often think that we each become wiser as we age, a Deleuzian perspective on the Self as Other allows us to ask the question: what might we learn through confronting our younger selves as Other, either through time travel or social media?