On Identity
all identity is in tension between the ways we know ourselves and the ways others know us: there's the identities we own for ourselves and there are the identities ascribed us by others. And generally the people who are busy being prejudiced against an identity aren't too worried as to whether or not you agree with the identity they're assigning yo... See more
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Individual identity is thus truly a dialogue: how a person thinks of himself is the result of learning the language of the community so that he can be a part of the community. It also explains the basic buman need to belong: the idea of the isolated Rousseauesque man of mature, living all by himself and for himself, may be superficially attractive,
... See moreCarl R. Trueman • The Rise and Triumph of the Modern Self
Such dynamics play an important part in ethnic conflict. Our sense of who we are as a community is often defined in terms of who we are not, who we are against, and what hardships we’ve endured. Tragically, we can feel threatened by the prospect of reconciliation, because it can rob us not only of our role, but also of our communal identity.
Roger Fisher • Difficult Conversations: How to Discuss What Matters Most
Early, I used the term "fragment personality" simply to give you this idea that identity was not a unit that could be easily defined.
All consciousness is interrelated. It flows together in currents, rises and falls, eddies and breaks, mixes and merges. In this great interplay, however, each identity, however brief in usual terms, is never
... See moreJane Roberts • The Afterdeath Journal of an American Philosopher
all identity is in part myth, the kind that we can use to sort out living, for better or worse, depending upon its uses.