What Makes You, You?

A sense of personal identity plays a large role in our own personal psychology and our society. Younger people may speak of “trying to figure out who I am”. A person may identify themselves in any number of ways – by gender, race, ethnicity, occupation, political persuasion, life experiences, or familial relationships (i.e. I am a father and a husband). Some of these things, like race and past experiences, are permanent features of ourselves that are not changeable. Other things, like our stage life, or view of the world, change over time. In fact, it’s quite common to hear people say things like “I’m just not the same person I was 20 years ago.” But this is meant metaphorically – we are the same center of consciousness that we were in the past. In what ways might that transcend temporal our temporal traits and properties?
It should be noted, however, that there are significant differences in how identity is understood in different cultures. Individualistic cultures tend to seek identity in personal traits and personal significance. Collective cultures tend to see identity more in terms of relationships to others and roles within a society. And different forms of monism (like pantheism) or materialism would claim that personal identity is just an illusion.

What do you think? Join us for another lively discussion!

Brent Hardaway is inviting you to a scheduled Zoom meeting.

Topic: Brent Hardaway's Zoom Meeting
Time: Oct 16, 2021 03:00 PM Eastern Time (US and Canada)

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