Is Identity More About How We See Ourselves or How Others See Us?
When considering issues relating to the concept of identity one should always bear in mind the ever-changing and dynamical character of such a notion. The ways in which we see ourselves as well as those in which others see us are both historically and culturally constructed. Yet every historical period sees its own understanding of identity as unchanging, permanent, immutable. As Nikolas Rose explains in the introduction to his collection of essays on the self “If there is one value that seems beyond reproach, in our current confused ethical climate, is that of the self and the terms that cluster around it – autonomy, identity, individuality, liberty, choice, fulfilment” (Rose, 1996: 1).
This paper aims to try and analyse the meaning and the sources of the concept of 'identity', in order to establish whether this concept is mainly concerned with an internal, autonomous and individual understanding of the self or if is more affected and shaped by heteronomous, group and community dynamics. Firstly I shall consider the idea of 'identity' in an historical perspective, drawing on a number of cases which exemplify the socio-political grounding that many features of identity have. I will then look at the paper's question in the light of a specific feature of a person's identity: their language. Finally it will be argued that neither interpretations of 'identity' (how we see ourselves vs how others see us) satisfactorily describes the concept, at least in its most common present understanding and that a more accurate phrasing might be that someone's identity is the result of how they see themselves in relation to other people. This position will be discussed in more detail throughout the essay and particularly in the concluding remarks.
As stated in the very first paragraph of this paper the concept of identity is not a fixed one. The processes of identity construction have been the object of many enquires, especially from a sociological point of view . The
This paper aims to try and analyse the meaning and the sources of the concept of 'identity', in order to establish whether this concept is mainly concerned with an internal, autonomous and individual understanding of the self or if is more affected and shaped by heteronomous, group and community dynamics. Firstly I shall consider the idea of 'identity' in an historical perspective, drawing on a number of cases which exemplify the socio-political grounding that many features of identity have. I will then look at the paper's question in the light of a specific feature of a person's identity: their language. Finally it will be argued that neither interpretations of 'identity' (how we see ourselves vs how others see us) satisfactorily describes the concept, at least in its most common present understanding and that a more accurate phrasing might be that someone's identity is the result of how they see themselves in relation to other people. This position will be discussed in more detail throughout the essay and particularly in the concluding remarks.
As stated in the very first paragraph of this paper the concept of identity is not a fixed one. The processes of identity construction have been the object of many enquires, especially from a sociological point of view . The