Gonzalo asked:

I would like to know if you could address the following question. How do we gain identity? and what is
the role of the context (country, family, school etc) in which we grow a part of this process of gaining
identity? Also, I would like to know what is the role of language in the aforementioned process? If you
are not able to answer my question fully I would really appreciate if you were kind enough as to tell
me what books I may find helpful in order for me to answer the questions above.

and Anna asked:

To what extent is a person an independent entity? Can you have a person without a society? Do
people make society or does society make people?

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I would like to have a go at Gonzalo and Anna's questions together, because I think that my answer
will cover both. It seems to me that the role of others is essential to the development of an individual's
identity. Those features that are most important to human identity — language, emotion, reason,
morality and much more — must be developed in a community of language users, emoters,
reasoners, moral beings. It is only through learning to operate on one's own behalf in a community
through developing these capacities that a person can become autonomous. Of course, because that
community consists of individuals, people make the society as well. That's a very short account, and
not very fully argued.

For books that deal with this view, I can recommend the following: Annette Baier (1985). Postures of
the mind: Essays on mind and morals.London: Methuen. (especially Chapter 5 — Cartesian
Persons). Seyla Benhabib (1992). Situating the self: Gender, community and postmodernism in
contemporary ethics.Cambridge: Polity Press. Charles Taylor (1989). Sources of the self: The
making of the modern identity.Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press.

Tim Sprod

I shall use the word "character", since "identity" raises specific philosophical problems. Family plays a
large part in the formation of character since our parents instil us with values which we can either
accept or rebel against but in either case, this is an external impact from those closest to us. The
family also provides us with our first relationships with others and although we can change and grow
and are not stuck in the mould of early relationships, they will remain part of our history. The school
then takes over this function of instilling value and providing interactions with others. A country, or a
culture, will have an impact to some extent upon character and values. It is said that a person who
rejects his family and his country becomes a lost soul. Identifications and shared experiences provide
us with a sense of who we are.

By learning language we enter into a common way of being, which may be called being human. This
might be fine-grained or sophisticated humanity. Behaviour is also a form of language because it is a
means of communication. The psycho-analytical view is that on recognising the other, or the mother,
the baby becomes conscious and the instinctual part of the self disappears into the unconscious. The
conscious self then integrates into a shared and objective world capable of entering into fine-grained
relationships with others and objects. So when it comes to a person's character, there is a duality.
There is the conscious controlled side of a person, and the instinctual self of the unconscious which
has more or less bearing on total character depending on how the conscious self is able to cope with
reality. You might be able to find introductory books on Melanie Klein and Jacques Lacan if you are
interested in this aspect. For the first part of your question, you will need sociology books.

Rachel Browne

For one thing, this is not really a philosophical question, in my opinion. You are asking about data,
about real-world situations. Now, we could go around on what "identity" means... and many think that
is a philosophical issue. However, your questions seem quite psychological to me. Try Erikson,
Freud, Fromm, Dewey,... the gamut of clinical psychologists (though Dewey was a philosopher and
an educator). You'll find quite a bit on identity in the clinical literature, enough to keep you busy for
some time. Now, there areidentity theorists in philosophy, and if you want some contemporary
writings, try this conference: http://www.bu.edu/wcp/MainPPer.htm(which was on "Persons and
Personal Identity"). But I think you'll be much more satisfied with writings in clinical psychology. Also
try this journal ("Self and Identity"): http://www.tandf.co.uk/journals/pp/15298868.html.

You might also take a look at the recent book: Models of the Selfedited by Shaun Gallagher and
Jonathan Shear. This should give you a very complete set of contemporary positions on this issue.

Steven Ravett Brown