Who are you? Issues of identity run deeper than politics

Demonstrators at the Iowa Capitol protest a bill in the Iowa House that would remove gender identity protections from the state civil rights act. (Photo by Kathie Obradovich/Iowa Capital Dispatch)

The philosophy of identity differs from the politics thereof, as people typically see themselves in a mosaic shaped by culture, ethnicity, generation, family and religion, among other dynamics.

One of the foremost theorists on personal identity and diversity is John Locke (1632-1704), a British philosopher, Oxford academic and medical researcher. His philosophy of natural law — basic human rights of life, liberty and property — inspired the American Revolution.

His treatise on identity posits that a person must have the capacity for reason and reflection and the ability to imagine the self in different times and places. In other words, consciousness and conscience constitute identity.

The views of prominent philosophers are pertinent today and can be applied to personal and political debates concerning identity, such as use of pronouns, gender options and sexual preferences.

Identity has been debated since ancient times. The enigma involves theories about the body and memories. If you believe identity is housed in the body, then you no longer have either when you die. However, if you believe that memory outlasts the body, at least in the hearts and minds of others, if not the soul, then identity overcomes time.

Philosophy uses thought experiments to make its points.

Consider this: You do not know anything about Jane Doe except that she is your age and social status and will outlive you by 10 years. A neurosurgeon makes it possible to exchange brains with her. If you refuse, Jane keeps her memories, and you keep yours. Do it, and you lose all recollections of the people and partners you love, the family and faith you have, the nationality and ethnicity you share, and so on. But you add a decade to your life.

Which do you prefer? Answering that indicates whether you favor the body or memory theory of identity.

Then there is the concept of teleology, (from Greek telos, or “end,” and logos, or “reason”). Aristotle devised complex thought experiments. But we can make them simple and modern: What was your predetermined purpose in life? What were you designed to do as a profession? What would your life be like if you followed that plan? How would it end up if you didn’t?

The English essayist and historian David Hume (1711–1776) espoused an empirical viewpoint. He favors fact over speculation, dismisses the notion of a soul, discounts the role of reason, and believes identity is shaped mainly by experience. In other words, you are the sum of what has happened and will happen to you.

If you gravitate toward Hume, you may believe in the body theory as well as a narrative idea of identity. You are born, mature, undergo life and die. This is your story. Think about what you tell others about yourself when you meet them initially. Or what you confide to a loved one about your secret self. Typically, you would cite the people who influenced you most and the events that defined who you became and why.

The problem with the narrative view is that life can be cut short before we intuit any purpose or continue into old age long after our major contributions have transpired. Moreover, culture and myth may pressure us into believing what we should have become, as in the self-made person of the American dream. What happens when we fail to achieve that dream?

The news media and legislatures have been covering the politics of identity. Recent research shows that surveys are becoming increasingly gender-inclusive, expanding from two options a decade ago (man/woman) to three-plus options in 2022 with more categories anticipated in 2024.

Gender options typically now include such categories as “man,” “non-binary” (does not identify exclusively male or female), “woman” and “self-describe.” Sexual orientation typically has more categories, including “asexual,” “bisexual,” “gay,” “heterosexual/straight/cisgender,” “lesbian,” “pansexual” (gender-blind), “queer” (sexual/gender identity other than straight/cisgender).

Many of these come with preferred pronouns.

More than a dozen states, including Iowa, have passed laws to notify parents if a student’s use of pronouns is inconsistent with their sex assigned at birth. Iowa’s law also prohibits in kindergarten through grade six “instruction related to gender identity and sexual orientation in school districts, charter schools and innovation zone schools.”

That debate simplifies identity. In virtue ethics, you are a work in progress. You live your ideals — not as a character in a life story but as a person who possesses character as a core component of conscience. As such, your interactions should be based on truth, gratitude, kindness, mindfulness, forgiveness, empathy, compassion and grace.

These values create timeless memories. They affirm and transcend our pronouns, politics, social status and ambition in life. They shape how we treat others and ourselves, creating a moral category of teleology and experience.

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