The question of personal identity is one of the most challenging to answer satisfactorily due to the unique nature of personalities. Most of the characters that we possess are seen by others who can describe them precisely. However, there are various aspects of personal identities that we can consider to be central to our lives. I consider myself to be resilient, aggressive, and objective. My resilient nature has enabled me to remain adamant throughout my school life. Although I have undergone through different challenges, I have been a position to overcome them.
Also, I have excelled in my education by remaining objective in the various tasks that have used as a determinant for critical milestones. I also consider and myself to be aggressive and a go-getter. When I find something worthwhile that can contribute positively in my life, I gather all the efforts that I can manage to ensure that I chive it efficiently. For this reason, I have gained imperative knowledge regarding the industry in which I intend to work. Upon graduating, I believe that I will not find it challenging to interact with resourceful persons who will provide mentorship and assist me in fast-tracking my career life.
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My family is the first pint of contact in my relations, and I hold my parents in high regard for various reasons. First, in addition to providing financial support towards my education, they understand, and they offer emotional support. Therefore, when undergoing challenges in my social life, I consider the family as the initial fallback position. Secondly, I spend quality time with my parents and siblings especially during the holidays, and this has strengthened the bond that binds us.
Also, as an outgoing and sociable person, I have friends in school and the neighborhood. Unlike the family members whom we can interact with any activity, I define my friends with a common interest that we share. I believe that without making new friends, I would find my life dull. Every time I meet new people, I get an opportunity to experience new ideas and every encounter becomes a learning opportunity.
Although it might appear simple to identify myself with these traits, the ideology that holds them together is rather complex. As David Hume observed, each of us is a collection of varied perceptions which succeed each other with an implausible promptness ad are also in a continuous movement (Polanyi, 2015). A modern philosophical view holds that our personalities can be likened to a computer program which is unique and can be stored on a magnetic tape.
The ideology indicates that we are material objects which are constituted by human animals. We are made of the same matter because what it takes for each of to persist is different. Therefore, my traits have remained connected since they build on each other but do not necessary change my personal identity. The psychological continuity enables me to be the same person overtime but does things differently when subjected to different environments. My mind acts as the right glue to bind my temporal stages throughout my life.
My position on personal identity fits with the general account of human nature. The rationale for this is that I consider myself to a collection of perceptions and attributes which I regard as unique. However, the human ability to know them is not always easy. As observed by Socrates, real knowledge is based on the capacity to master personal identity and the uniqueness in which it is embedded (Martin & Barresi, 2013). For instance, despite a good number of my friends being aggressive, none of them has similar goals as mine. Therefore, we strive to achieve different objectives. It is also worth pointing out that in my description of my personal identity, I singled out aggressiveness and objectivity as some of the ideasattribute that I uphold. These are aimed at making my life better. The human nature, as outlined by John Locke depends on consciousness and not on substance.
The human behavior is dependent on the consciousness of the past and the implication of the present actions in the future. Therefore, since people have unique knowledge and perception of the future, they have different attributes, and this makes them unique. Locke explains that the human mind or the consciousness goes along with the substance (Balibar, 2013). Therefore, although I remain to be the same person physically overtime, my consciousness, or personality remains the same. The personal identity is founded on repeated knowledge.
Summarily, in my description of my identity, I consider the soul as unchanging. This is affirmed by David Hume, who outlines that the soul remains unchanged in the same person and this allows for psychological continuity. The soul exists in the changing body, but it is not altered. This philosophical evidence demonstrates that the soul may exist even after its separation from the body. Borrowing from Plato’s Phaedo, the soul searches for knowledge, this predisposes it as the basis of attributes, character, and consequently personality (Martin & Barresi, 2013). Socrates observes death, which is the ultimate separation of the soul from the body depicts an ideal philosophical achievement. Therefore, I believe that there is life after death, whereby, one’s soul, which forms the basis of consciousness and personality, will continue to the next world.
References
Balibar, É. (2013). Identity and Difference: John Locke and the Invention of Consciousness . Verso Books.
Martin, R., & Barresi, J. (2013). The rise and fall of soul and self: An intellectual history of personal identity . Columbia University Press.
Polanyi, M. (2015). Personal knowledge: Towards a post-critical philosophy . University of Chicago Press.
