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Who are you? What characteristics would you say define you? I think everyone would answer this question slightly differently. Even if they were only given one word and two people chose the same word, it could still take on a different meaning. How do identities develop and how do certain characteristics become more important? What role do genetics play in developing identity?
According to the Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy, the question of identity is not a single question but a bunch of questions that are connected together. Each question can be answered in a multitude of ways. For example, a person can have the same four character traits as someone else, but they each choose different ones as the most important. Stanford explains personal identity as being “contingent and changeable: different properties could have belonged to to the way one defines oneself as a person, and what properties these are can change over time.”
Stanford also identifies “personhood” as another part of identity. It involves questions concerning what makes a person and at what point does something qualify as a person. The answers differ depending on personal philosophy, which is part of why the field is so complicated. The next major part of identity is persistence. Stanford poses the question “What does it take for a person to persist from one time to another?” Basically, what makes a person exist for however long they do, and what makes them stop existing?
There are several more categories of questions, but the Stanford article focuses on the persistence questions. It presents three possible answers to what it takes for a person to persist in existence. One is the psychological-continuity view which focuses on the mental features that you inherits as what helps you to exist. Another is the brute-physical view. It believes that you are the being that has your body; it is focused on the physical aspects rather than the mental. The final view, anticriterialism, states that, “Psychological and physical continuity are evidence for identity… but do not always guarantee it, and may not be required.” These different questions and theories show the different levels and characteristics of identity, but they show no clear answer as to what exactly it is since philosophy deals with the abstract.
Another aspect of identity that many debate is the nature versus nurture question. Is identity something that is shaped by life experiences or by genes? An article in Scientific American details an experimental study done by Julia Freund on the question. She placed mice with identical DNA in a common environment and observed their behavioral patterns closely. The unit of measurement was roaming entropy, which is based on “how much you get out, and with how much variety,” and the null hypothesis was that the mice would all act the same way. As the experiment went on, the researchers noticed that some mice started to explore more than others despite having the same genes. After the experiment, they looked at the number of adult neurons in each brain, and the mice who had higher roaming entropy (who were more adventurous) tended to have more adult neurons.
The article itself cautions against claiming causation because of correlation, but it notes that, one, the mice developed different behaviors despite having the same genes and DNA, and, two, there seems to be a correlation between how much the mice got out and how many adult neurons they had in their brains. It comes to the conclusion that the way we live our lives affects our identity.
However, before accepting this conclusion, it is important to consider several aspects of the experiment. First of all, as the article acknowledges, no two mice were EXACTLY identical, and the slight gene variations might have been enough to create the differences. More importantly, the study was done on mice. There are some essential differences between mice and humans. The main difference would be man’s free will. Animals tend to live for survival and do not think beyond the next meal, whereas humans have much more complex thought processes. These differences may be great enough to keep experiments on the identities of mice from being applicable to humans.
The experiments that would be the most telling would be to take genetically similar humans like twins and put them in different habitats to see how their characters and identities develop. However, these type of experiments have many logistical and ethical problems such as is it ethical to separate families for the sake of science. Also, it is hard to follow a human’s every move.
Despite the obstacles, a theory about brain plasticity has developed, as detailed in the book Grand Challenge: Nature Versus Nurture: How Does the Interplay of Biology and Experience Shape Our Brains and Make Us Who We Are? The book believes that identity is created by a combination of nature and nurture. It says that humans are born with their brains already wired a certain way, but the brain develops according to experiences. For example, if you never use your one eye, the part of the brain devoted to seeing through that eye will never develop. Genetics affect the “initial formation of a synapse… But if that synapse is not used, the brain will ‘prune’ or eliminate it.”
The question of identity is a complex one that has been pondered for centuries. Although scientists now have biological mechanisms to help them explain how identity develops, the question is a controversial one that will continue to be debated, especially with the critical aspect of the scientific community.
Out of curiosity, I asked some people that I interacted with what their defining characteristic of their identity was. These are my results, but I would like to state that they cannot be seen as a legitimate study. I did not randomize who I asked, and I did not ask nearly enough people for any trends to be applicable to the campus, much less the world. This was done more out of curiosity than anything else.
| Religion | Family | Ethnicity | Interests | Values | Occupation | Gender | |
| Girls | 2 | 4 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 2 |
| Boys | 3 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 0 |
| Total | 5 | 5 | 1 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 2 |
This is a very complex issue you are working with. Especially because it is so difficult to experiment and work with. There is no real way to measure personality and since we are still figuring out what genes cause what there is no real way to say if one gene makes people an introvert while another makes them an extrovert. Your answer though is basically the most common and most reasonable answer. However, as this class has taught us the most reasonable is not always the most accurate. For all we know people are controlled by DNA or DNA does nothing to actually affect a persons personality. It just takes so much time to figure these things out and there are really no moral way to figure anything out. We just have to do the the best we can.
Identity is a very interesting topic. I especially love how you asked a few people about what they feel is the defining characteristic of their identity. This kind of ties into what we talked about in My interpersonal communications class. We learned that there are four main layers of identity, and they are personal, enactment, relational, and communal. The personal layer is what we know about ourselves and what we actively tell others about ourselves. The enactment layer is when people can figure out your characteristics based on the way you interact with them. Obviously, people can figure bits and pieces out about you based on what you say, but enactment includes how you dress, and your body language as well. Relational is the part of your identity that is shaped by your relationships with other people. Last, but not least, communal is the part of your identity that is associated with being a part of specific groups. Isn’t this fascinating? What makes it even better is the the fact that some of these layers exist very heavily in the life of your friends. If you wanted to extend your research you could incorporate the layers of identity that I have provided. Lastly, I will leave you with this article on the layers of identity if you would like to check it out. http://absentofi.blogspot.com/2007/01/layers-of-identity.html