So, I was wondering about the term identity. What makes us us? Or rather, How do we identify an individual? Already, I have classified the object into animals and then humans. So it starts with putting it into the right group. How did I do this? The easiest (may not be correct) to find the physical characteristics and then conclude. Next, what do we do with this human? Classify again: is it a male, female, transgender? Skin colour, race, nationality, mother tongue, religious inclinations, political views.
This entire process is flawed. And inevitable. Every human is so different from the next one. No permutation of only finitely many attributes can make a person. My mind is always trying to find patterns. I have figured that it's a defense mechanism of my introvert side.
Coming back to the main topic which I must say is utterly confusing to write about. When we identify a person, we take the help of the difference that person has with respect to others. Looks play an important role here. If we all looked the same, we could never identify immediately. Here I must say, very different looking people often say the exact same thing. The funniest part is, they are often on the opposite sides of the conflict.
Again, we keep identifying ourselves to large groups of people having some common traits (which are often absolutely unnecessary and harmful).
So, does our identity lie in being different, or being common? Can we ever understand another human completely or do we always have to look through filters of commonness?
This entire process is flawed. And inevitable. Every human is so different from the next one. No permutation of only finitely many attributes can make a person. My mind is always trying to find patterns. I have figured that it's a defense mechanism of my introvert side.
Coming back to the main topic which I must say is utterly confusing to write about. When we identify a person, we take the help of the difference that person has with respect to others. Looks play an important role here. If we all looked the same, we could never identify immediately. Here I must say, very different looking people often say the exact same thing. The funniest part is, they are often on the opposite sides of the conflict.
Again, we keep identifying ourselves to large groups of people having some common traits (which are often absolutely unnecessary and harmful).
So, does our identity lie in being different, or being common? Can we ever understand another human completely or do we always have to look through filters of commonness?
