Personal identity has long been a topic of philosophical discussion and is clearly taking on an increasingly important role in the social sphere. I’m curious how you guys live and understand identity. I’ve thrown in a disparate list of food for thought intuitions that may or may not be useful.
- The minimal set of properties that differentiate me from others.
- An essence, a form, or a soul.
- How I see myself in relation to others. Identity is largely internal but is impacted by how others receive me.
- How others see me. Identity is largely external. What I ‘am’ to others.
- The set of actions I take in the world. The impact I make. The things I create.
- It’s whatever is thinking “me” or “I” at any given moment and there’s no persistent identity over time to unite those instances. It’s fleeting.
I believe that identity is wholly a social and natural construct. It is a function of ego. There is no true self-identity. To understand your identity, you have to remove every aspect of society and nature. You are constantly pushed and pulled by what or who is around you. Are you by friends? You identify by how your friends expect you to act. Are you at work? You identify by how your coworkers, boss, or customers expect you to act. When you are alone, you identify by the things you surround yourself with, be it video games, books, or your sour dough starter. Even in nature we let our ego be adjusted by the trees, a river, clouds, or sunshine.
Put yourself into a sensory deprivation tank for a few days and you’ll start to get a clear view of your real self, which is conveniently about the time it drives you insane.
I think this is very true. Your identity changes depending on who you’re around, and that’s fine. There’s a lot to about building identity, and it’s all about social acceptance within a group as foundational.
Can you elaborate on the last part?
It’s better if you read around on it, you’ll get better information than I can provide from this tiny keyboard on my phone, but the basic principal is that you get into a “float tank” or “isolation tank” or whatever the hippy selling it to you calls it, and you are completely blocked off from the outside world, with no sight, sound, or feeling. In short bursts there is some very weak medical evidence that it can help alleviate certain conditions or “open your mind,” but prolonged exposure, especially for days on end, is basically torture. You have no sense of time inside one. A day can feel like a year. I’ve read first hand reports saying that they will get into it, and they will think they have been in it for hours when it’s been only 15 minutes. You can Google tons of stories and anecdotes about them, but take them with a grain of salt, as they have no real medical backing and are at best fringe medicine akin to chiropracty.
Easy! I don’t. I’m just me.
I’m pretty surprised to see others in here answering how I would about the topic.
«Granny Weatherwax looked out at the multi-layered, silvery world.
“Where am I?”
INSIDE THE MIRROR.
“Am I dead?”
THE ANSWER TO THAT, said Death, IS SOMEWHERE BETWEEN NO AND YES.
Esme turned, and a billion figures turned with her.
“When can I get out?”
WHEN YOU FIND THE ONE THAT’S REAL.
“Is this a trick question?”
NO.
Granny looked down at herself.
“This one,” she said.»
— Terry Pratchett, Witches Abroad
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From what I’ve seen latly “identity” is a tool used by religion, politicians and marketers to feel pert of their in group and soften their critical thinking.
I think that any of these, and probably a dozen others, may be relevant definitions in certain circumstances.
However, for a more general definition, from my own perspective, I would say that identity is the sum of my experiences and the patterns or propensities that i have developed as a result.
