Personal Identity : Identity And Identity

Identity refers to “a relation that everything has to itself and to no other thing”, and our perception of personal identity is the knowledge that we are ourselves, and who we have been – basically, that I am the same person I was last week, last year, etc. Leibniz’s Law states that if one thing (A) is identical to another (B) at one given point in time, they share the exact same properties, making them the same, one thing (A = B).

No matter how much a person desires to live according to their personal autonomy, he or she will never escape the influence of societal forces. Explicitly or subtlety, these forces shape our individuality. One intriguing manner that these societal forces manifests itself in is our name. As Ruth Graham writes, “It’s becoming increasingly clear today that names carry a wealth of information about the world around us, the family we arrived in, the moment we were born—and that they mark us as part of cultural currents bigger than we realize.” Names alone provide evidence that individuals are made by interactions with social institutions and groups. Ultimately, the inescapable nature of society’s influence demands individuals to ponder how much personal autonomy is actually autonomous and to what extent does the pursuit of personal autonomy lead to a life of emptiness and vanity.

In philosophy, the issue of personal identity concerns the conditions under which a person at one time is the same person at another time. An analysis of personal identity

The question “What are we?” in an ontological sense is currently inconclusive and open for debate. Nevertheless, identifying a description of what we are not shall help uncover what we are. We are not a psychological continuity account of personal identity over time. Under this context, “psychological continuity” is defined as continuous mental states over time. For example, characteristics of one’s mind such as sentience, memory, and other mental faculties, must remain an uninterrupted continuum over time to be considered psychologically continuous. Additionally, under this context, the term “person” will hereafter refer to beings that have mental properties. Under philosophical context, the term “identity” is generally defined as its

What is personal identity? This question has been asked and debated by philosophers for centuries. The problem of personal identity is determining what conditions and qualities are necessary and sufficient for a person to exist as the same being at one time as another. Some think personal identity is physical, taking a materialistic perspective believing that bodily continuity or physicality is what makes a person a person with the view that even mental things are caused by some kind of physical occurrence. Others take a more idealist approach with the belief that mental continuity is the sole factor in establishing personal identity holding that physical things are just reflections of the mind. One more perspective on personal identity

The concept of identity is highly paradoxical at best. The notion of having a “true” identity is ultimately impossible. Each of us will take on slightly different identities to acceptably fit given situations. Although he focuses on identifying with another person or object, Burt Olivier is a notable scholar that has written extensively on identity.

Identity theory attempts to explain the relationship between the body and the mind. It states that some mental states are the same as some brain states. This implies that one could group mental events – like pain, pleasure or hunger – into events that correlate with physical states of the brain; for example, when one feels pain, C-fibers are firing(mason, “identity theory”). However, there are many objections to this theory. Overall, these objections are compelling and show that identity theory is weak and untrue. In this essay, I will argue that mental states are not identical to brain states by breaking down the Identity Theory.

If on Tuesday, I suffer an accident and lose all of my memory, it is probable that my family and friends will still love and care for me, creating an impression that I am indeed the same person I once was. These conditions imply the theses of animalism and bodily continuity when it comes to personal identity. However, is this human habit enough to discard the idea that it is psychological continuity that sustains identity? Whilst many may argue that it would be against our intuition to say that I am no longer the same person, I do not believe that this is caused by our intuition, but instead a societal construct that’s sole purpose is to make the trauma of the accident and loss easier to deal with. By using this premise and upholding the psychological

Bodily Identity View: Personal Identity persists over time because you remain in the same body from birth until death.

How did it feel? Nice, or strange, or both? A little fear step in? Your ego came rampaging in with the thought they must think I am strange, or crazy, or did I turn the oven off, or I wish I fixed my hair, or am I after them, or are they after me, or what are they thinking about me, I hope they don’t think I am gay, or ….

Personal identity is a theory of philosophy that asks the question of who are we, and is there life after we die? (Internet Encyclopaedia of Philosophy, n.d). There are four different approaches in relation to personal identity, the psychological continuity, bodily continuity, identity doesn’t matter and narrative identity. This essay will discuss the bodily approach and will discuss how the approach responds to the problem of personal identity and also the limitations and the weaknesses of the bodily approach. Along with the problem of personal identity on its own as well as looking at the problem of personhood and who am I and this essay will be looking at the limitations / weaknesses that go along with the bodily approach.

A prevalent idea that is not only discussed frequently in the field of philosophy but is also bound to make an appearance in everyone’s wandering thoughts is the concept of personal Identity. Who am I? What is it to be a person? How can one perceive a one’s existence in time? All these and more are common questions that can blindside someone’s casual daydream and force them down the rabbit hole of philosophy. Intellectuals from all around the world have pondered this conception of self, yet one man especially has delivered the soundest notion. Philosophically David Hume has proven to have the most credible theories on self-identity. It’s obviously important to recognize any of my personal theories brought up in this paper

Personal identity is an ambiguous concept that plays an essential role in the story of your life. Have you ever thought of who you are or what makes you up? Some believe that it is your body, mind, or even that your “self” does not exist. Identity can be defined as all of those things and an infinite amount of others. Self is made of your soul because your body and mind are physical and they deteriorate over time and your soul does not, you are yourself despite birth and death, even if your ideas and opinions change over time.

Understanding an individual’s way of life as it relates to their culture, beliefs and ethnicity. One’s personal identity is the main characteristics that make them a whole. Personal identity is the concept you develop about yourself that evolves over the course of your life. This may include aspects of your life that you have no control over, such as where you grew up or the color of your skin, as well as the choices you make in life, such as how you spend your time and what you believe. In psychology a theory of human behavior, emphasizing the drive to overcome feelings of inferiority by compensation and the need to achieve personal goals that have value for society,(Psychology,2011).

My family visited Puerto Rico during the summer of 2017. The airport in San Juan was an hour from our hotel, and while driving through the island’s interior, we stopped for lunch. My father began talking with the waiter, and she told us that dozens of schools in the surrounding area had closed in the last twelve months. Looking out the window, I saw a row of small, ramshackle houses and became keenly aware of a fundamental truth about the world, a truth evident in all our lives: that unchosen, unchangeable circumstances often dictate the paradigms by which we interact with the outside world. To me, social identity is the impact of these uncontrollable factors on the way that we, as humans, perceive our place in society. Social identities tend to be self-reinforcing; our sense of belonging shapes our actions, and those actions, in turn, strengthen our sense of belonging.