Evaluate the Claim That Identity Is Determined by Relationships

In philosophy, it is important for definitions to be involved when studying. The foundations of philosophy are built on questions. When first being introduced to a definition one becomes enlightened. In the essay The Value of Philosophy, becoming enlightened is explained as “Philosophy, though unable to tell us with certainty what is the true answer to the doubts which it raises, is able to suggest many possibilities which enlarge our thoughts and free them from the tyranny of custom” (Russel 15). Definitions in philosophy are only a stepping stone that lead an individual into a direction that logical thinking should go towards. When dealing with definitions, it is critical that the definition does not invoke confusion. In the essay Improving Your Thinking Barker describes what a definition shouldn’t be. “A stipulative definition should not assign to a word that already has an established meaning some new meaning that is likely to be confused with it” (Barker 55).

makes your identity, shapes our identity It is what defines a person and how people see that

In her essay, "Are We Worried About Storm's Identity or Our own?" Patricia J. Williams asks the philosophical question, "Are we worried about Storm's identity or our own?" Her argument implies that we worry about our own identity as she describes her analytical process, a personal narration from which she derives her analytical thoughts, as well as an analogy. Williams' writing thoughts are effectively expressed in her essay and consequently, the philosophical question, "are we worried about Storm's identity or our own?"

As you go throughout life, it is not very common to stop and question your own personal identity, because you are just you, there does not seem like that much to it. But, in the philosophical world, this topic is one of the most popular things to look into and try to understand. Surprisingly, the idea of personal identity is not as simple as it seems. Many philosophers seem to question if personal identity even exists, and if they do believe it exists, how exactly? In the most popular philosophical arguments, there are three theories of personal identity that stick out; psychological approach, ego theory, and bundle theory. These three theories discuss how personal identity can be identified, or if it even exists at all. There is no way to be one hundred percent positive that one of these theories is true, so there will be always be a mystery to personal identity. Even though we can never be sure, it is always interesting to look into each theory and discuss the possibilities to our own personal identity.

Identity is a state of mind in which someone recognizes/identifies their character traits that leads to finding out who they are and what they do and not that of someone else. In other words it's basically who you are and what you define yourself as being. The theme of identity is often expressed in books/novels or basically any other piece of literature so that the reader can intrigue themselves and relate to the characters and their emotions. It's useful in helping readers understand that a person's state of mind is full of arduous thoughts about who they are and what they want to be. People can try to modify their identity as much as they want but that can never change. The theme of identity is a very strenuous topic to understand

The essence of the relationship between a mother and child is a mutual ascendency in regards to identity. Children are subject to an instinctive longing for a mother. It is the mother’s influence that guides them in their process of discovering all the realities the world posses and in that processing discerning their identity. Conversely when a woman becomes a mother the presence of her child causes her to evaluate and develop her identity under the pretense of motherhood. Paula Nicolson touches on the value of both these scenarios in her article “Motherhood and Women’s Lives” where she expresses how the mother child relationship gives the pretense for both parties to find their authentic identities (Nicolson). Sue Monk Kidd evaluates the

When we are born, one of the first things that is required is for the parent is to create an identity for his/her child, after, the doctors identify the child as either male or female. Then, a name is given to the child and eventually the child becomes that person and is known by others in his/her respective community as that person. Nonetheless, a name is not the only identity that we live by. As we get older and live in a specific environment, our identities are altered. Attitude and personality change based on how one is raised and the people they surround themselves with. People start to recognize who they are based on name, a unique

In alignment with one of the key points from the previous section, which denies the integral and unified account of identity, this section elaborates the discursive view of identity. In order to understand this shift in conceptualising identity, we will revisit the simple definition of identity from Longman dictionary (section 9.1.1). The later part of this definition, specifically, the second key phrase “different from other people” brings about the discussion of the discursive approach to identity. Departing from the essentialist viewpoint of identity as a stable core of self, later literatures have advocated a close relation between the processes of intersubjectivity and the crucial role of ‘the others’ in identity construction (Hall, 2000). As a nature of human beings, the process of identification is seen as a universal need to belong to a group, to reflect on others, thus define themselves and others. In other words, it is to say that identity is constructed through ‘difference’ and experienced by contrast (Benveniste, 2000). Specifically, “[i]n common sense language, identification is constructed on the back of recognition of some common origin or shared characteristics with another person or group, or with an ideal, and with the natural closure of solidarity and allegiance established on this foundation” (Hall, 2000:16). The common origin or shared characteristics here do not adhere to the essentialist viewpoint of identity as an identical and unchangeable stage of

After the birth of newly born babies, a specific gender is engraved on them based on their sexual dimorphism – male babies are assigned as boys and female babies are assigned as girls, and another category generally involves intersex babies. According to the scholars gender does not have natural existence but instead it is just a concept that is constructed by cultural and

Identity can be defined as 'how I see myself and how others see me. ' (Questioning Identity. 2000. p7) An identity involves a sense of belonging, an individual chooses to identify with a group and actively engages in doing so, showing agency. This sense of belonging involves being the 'same ' and recognising that others are 'different '. An individual can have multiple identities e.g. gender, supporting a football team; all of these identities make up the individual. Structures such as gender and class, influence, encourage or prevent individuals from identifying with certain groups and therefore shaping the identity.

Therefore, all these factors are crucial in the process of identity development which occurs as the individual answers questions such as “Who am I? Where am I headed? and What is the meaning of my life? (Newman & Newman, 2012, p.389).” The psychosocial crisis faced during these years is achieving individual identity versus identity confusion. Thus, the individual most pull together the many components of the self into a unified image that can push the person in the direction of positive and significant feats (Newman & Newman, 2012, p.412.) Moreover, a sense of identity provides a deep sense of ideological commitment and allows the individual to know his or her place in the world (Sokol, 2009, p.142). In contrast, identity confusion stems from the individual’s inability to make commitments to any single view of him/herself. He/she may be unable to integrate the several roles they play and may lack confidence in their ability to make meaningful decisions (Newman & Newman, 2012,

beliefs. Sober uses the example of lightning. He points out that according to the Greeks,

Who are you? Who am I? These are questions that we all ponder at some point or another in our lives. As human beings we are seemingly inundated with the desire to classify and categorise. We are constantly defining and analysing the differences that we observe in the world, it seems only natural that we would apply this method of classification to our position within our society. More specifically, we want to understand our social identities and this can be achieved by acknowledging which groups we identify most with.

Identity refers to structured sense of self, which manipulates itself in threads of life (Burr, 2015). Figure 1 of Tūrangawaewae shows individuals identity can be classified under our age, our gender (male or female), the values and beliefs we share (religious or non- religious), the experiences ( good or bad), the people we surround ourselves with (friends and family), also not limited to, from our genetic inheritance (ancestors or parents). However, identity threads are not pre inherited but are pre-constructed idea influenced by social experiences (Kahu, 2015). I am a woman, 21 years of age, Christian by faith, Fijian Indian by ethnicity. I use mind set of goals to convey through my identity. For example, excelling

1. Identity is people's concepts of who they are, of what sort of people they are, and how