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Identity
- Thread starter Resha Caner
- Start date
- Dec 2, 2014
- 5,976
- 2,599
- 30
- Country
- United States
- Gender
- Male
- Faith
- Christian
- Marital Status
- Single
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- US-Others
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KitKatMatt
stupid bleeding heart feminist liberal
A large part of my identity definitely comes from external sources. I was born a blank slate, and what was imprinted on me through learning and experiences eventually created a huge part of my identity.
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No. Actions I that I take (but other persons don´t take) are informed in a way that distinguishes my actions (and my information) from theirs.
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KitKatMatt
stupid bleeding heart feminist liberal
Culture, family, faith, and all sorts of input like that have definitely shaped who I am. Had I been born somewhere else, in a different culture, or in a different belief system, I believe I would be different than how I am today. Some things may still be the same, but others vastly different.
I would hope that I would hold some of the same core beliefs (considering I grew up being taught one way and then changed later to thinking another way), but there's no way to be absolutely sure.
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Try that with your spouse. While amusing, be sure to be just out of striking range.
I do it constantly, with spouse and kids. Sometimes even the dog.
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SloriB
Pet lover and empathetic intellectual
- Feb 18, 2016
- 49
- 32
- Gender
- Female
- Faith
- Protestant
- Marital Status
- Private
Okay, I'll answer #55. It might share more private details, but I'll walk the line
"* culture (definition #1)
* community (definition #3)
* family (definition #4)
* profession (definition #3)"
I believe, yes. These factors have changed how my identity was shaped. Not the only way, but certainly have.
- Culture. Our culture can change our identity, because like other traits, there is a continuum of "heavy influence" and "light influence", meaning we will all have different connections with it. Let's say, for example, that my Irish influence taught me to appreciate music, especially traditional instruments. It might make me become a musician. Is that something all family members would have done? No. My brother had the same upbringing and the most musical thing he does is burp. Is it something that all Irish people do? No. But it was the culture that imparted that onto me. Therefore, being a musician would become part of my identity.
- Profession. Some professions won't change a person's identity much, but in mine, it does. We are taught in-depth people skills and these have become a part of my identity. Since training I am more curious, a better listener, and have improved my communication skills. Are communication skills a piece of identity? Not directly, but they will affect how we interact with people, hence becoming identity materials. What makes our experience unique, is that we will learn communication skills and adapt them according to the identity and belief system we already hold. So it becomes influenced further to give us a unique viewpoint on the skills and how we use them.
- Family. Family absolutely affect our identity. Early in life, family (mostly parents) will affect what we wear, how we feel about ourselves, the choices we make about our hobbies or interest, and many other things. Then when we grow up those experiences will go with us -- we'll either become committed to these lessons, or we'll avoid them wholeheartedly, or a continuum of both. Does one trait make us unique? No, but the combination of these lessons does. How we define ourselves, or what we identify with comes from family first, because they are the first and often the most important interactions we will have.
An example would be my upbringing. When I was 10, my father became physically disabled from an all-but-fatal car accident. Did it suddenly make me a different person? No. But the lessons and experiences did shape who I am today. It shaped how I view my profession, how I handle difficult situations, how I feel about disability and those who are "vulnerable," my actions and beliefs about safety and what caution means, among other things. These lessons were absorbed into my self or identity and influenced how I conducted myself and how I defined myself. Such an experience made me speak up more. I remember how difficult my mum was finding it at first, so I just started being the one to explain situations to people, speak on behalf of my family to teachers or people who asked how everything was, as we lived in a small town and everyone knew of what happened.
Community affects us, yes. For some, it might be how a facade helps us to fit in, such as certain fashion movements, career expectations, dating specifics, groups we choose to hang out with, or what we choose to do. But whether it's a facade we uphold, or it's an actual connection, it will still influence our identity. Examples would be: are we the chattiest person or the shyest, do we come across as giving or selfish, are we the trustworthy friend or the gossip. All of these are on a continuum, meaning we're all going to have different dilutions of these which we internalise into our identity. Do these traits become unique themselves? No, but once again the percentages we internalise will be unique combinations.I might be 99.9% on the chattiness scale, and 12% on the selfish scale for example, whereas someone else might be 45% and 85%.
All this said, remember that identity and traits are on a continuum too. An event might dilute certain identity traits some days, but not others, meaning the experience with identity is even more unique.
Is this what you were asking? I could probably give a lot more examples for each section, but was trying to keep it brief. Yeah, right! lol
"* culture (definition #1)
* community (definition #3)
* family (definition #4)
* profession (definition #3)"
I believe, yes. These factors have changed how my identity was shaped. Not the only way, but certainly have.
- Culture. Our culture can change our identity, because like other traits, there is a continuum of "heavy influence" and "light influence", meaning we will all have different connections with it. Let's say, for example, that my Irish influence taught me to appreciate music, especially traditional instruments. It might make me become a musician. Is that something all family members would have done? No. My brother had the same upbringing and the most musical thing he does is burp. Is it something that all Irish people do? No. But it was the culture that imparted that onto me. Therefore, being a musician would become part of my identity.
- Profession. Some professions won't change a person's identity much, but in mine, it does. We are taught in-depth people skills and these have become a part of my identity. Since training I am more curious, a better listener, and have improved my communication skills. Are communication skills a piece of identity? Not directly, but they will affect how we interact with people, hence becoming identity materials. What makes our experience unique, is that we will learn communication skills and adapt them according to the identity and belief system we already hold. So it becomes influenced further to give us a unique viewpoint on the skills and how we use them.
- Family. Family absolutely affect our identity. Early in life, family (mostly parents) will affect what we wear, how we feel about ourselves, the choices we make about our hobbies or interest, and many other things. Then when we grow up those experiences will go with us -- we'll either become committed to these lessons, or we'll avoid them wholeheartedly, or a continuum of both. Does one trait make us unique? No, but the combination of these lessons does. How we define ourselves, or what we identify with comes from family first, because they are the first and often the most important interactions we will have.
An example would be my upbringing. When I was 10, my father became physically disabled from an all-but-fatal car accident. Did it suddenly make me a different person? No. But the lessons and experiences did shape who I am today. It shaped how I view my profession, how I handle difficult situations, how I feel about disability and those who are "vulnerable," my actions and beliefs about safety and what caution means, among other things. These lessons were absorbed into my self or identity and influenced how I conducted myself and how I defined myself. Such an experience made me speak up more. I remember how difficult my mum was finding it at first, so I just started being the one to explain situations to people, speak on behalf of my family to teachers or people who asked how everything was, as we lived in a small town and everyone knew of what happened.
Community affects us, yes. For some, it might be how a facade helps us to fit in, such as certain fashion movements, career expectations, dating specifics, groups we choose to hang out with, or what we choose to do. But whether it's a facade we uphold, or it's an actual connection, it will still influence our identity. Examples would be: are we the chattiest person or the shyest, do we come across as giving or selfish, are we the trustworthy friend or the gossip. All of these are on a continuum, meaning we're all going to have different dilutions of these which we internalise into our identity. Do these traits become unique themselves? No, but once again the percentages we internalise will be unique combinations.I might be 99.9% on the chattiness scale, and 12% on the selfish scale for example, whereas someone else might be 45% and 85%.
All this said, remember that identity and traits are on a continuum too. An event might dilute certain identity traits some days, but not others, meaning the experience with identity is even more unique.
Is this what you were asking? I could probably give a lot more examples for each section, but was trying to keep it brief. Yeah, right! lol
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You can, because you will still have had experiences. And at some point, people will have been part of that.
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that's because there is no line. we are the product of every little thing which has happened to us or near us since late in our gestation. no two people can ever have identical experiences, ergo we're all different.
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WretchedGoat
Active Member
You can't simply sum someone up into a single word to describe them. Yes, I am a loner, but that doesn't encompass who I am as a person. It's a aspect of my personality, nothing more. I'm hesitant to share too much online because I don't know people and therefore don't trust them.
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SloriB
Pet lover and empathetic intellectual
- Feb 18, 2016
- 49
- 32
- Gender
- Female
- Faith
- Protestant
- Marital Status
- Private
"that's because there is no line. we are the product of every little thing which has happened to us or near us since late in our gestation. no two people can ever have identical experiences, ergo we're all different."
It's also a case of awareness too. We have to be aware of the experience to be affected by it. For example, if a kid is screaming in a supermarket your awareness and thoughts of it will be different to the embarrassed parent. Possibly the store clerk too, who instead of reacting surprised, has probably seen this same stand-off many times.
"Trying to determine how much of each contributes to our identity, would need to include, wild speculation."
Agreed. I gave some examples in a previous (long) post, but it's on a continuum, as you are saying. It would be wild speculation to determine how each thing will affect someone. Only they can really answer for themselves, see my examples in #71. But to make it complicated, how we define ourselves is also on a continuum. Today I feel like I'm not overly a morning person, because I've not had much sleep and feel my head might hit the mousemat soon (lol), but tomorrow, when I get to bed earlier, I can guarantee I'll think, "Yes, I am a morning person. I'm ready to!"
Another example would be the above poster. They said that they sometimes don't trust to share themselves with people they don't know. Yet other people they might trust wholeheartedly and share innermost secrets. Continuum
It's also a case of awareness too. We have to be aware of the experience to be affected by it. For example, if a kid is screaming in a supermarket your awareness and thoughts of it will be different to the embarrassed parent. Possibly the store clerk too, who instead of reacting surprised, has probably seen this same stand-off many times.
"Trying to determine how much of each contributes to our identity, would need to include, wild speculation."
Agreed. I gave some examples in a previous (long) post, but it's on a continuum, as you are saying. It would be wild speculation to determine how each thing will affect someone. Only they can really answer for themselves, see my examples in #71. But to make it complicated, how we define ourselves is also on a continuum. Today I feel like I'm not overly a morning person, because I've not had much sleep and feel my head might hit the mousemat soon (lol), but tomorrow, when I get to bed earlier, I can guarantee I'll think, "Yes, I am a morning person. I'm ready to!"
Another example would be the above poster. They said that they sometimes don't trust to share themselves with people they don't know. Yet other people they might trust wholeheartedly and share innermost secrets. Continuum
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Not at all. At least, not more aware than in the sense of 'conscious'. The newborn has far less awareness than an adult, but absorbs experiences at an incredible pace and rate. They're sponges.
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I think the attempt to ascribe any feature of ourselves to 'innate personality', or genetics if you prefer, is simple vanity.
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