Individual and social determinants for the formation of identity

A comparative analysis of research strategies

Bibliographic Data

ID13123333
AuthorsElla D Dryaeva (Moscow State University, corresponding author), Ilya A Kanaev (0000-0002-2035-7483, Sun Yat-sen University)
Year2020
Volume36
Issue4
Pages621-633
Publication date2020-01-01
Peer ReviewedYes
Open AccessYes
TypeARTICLE
VenueVestnik of Saint Petersburg University Philosophy and Conflict Studies (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 2541-9382 • E-ISSN: 2542-2278
PublisherSaint Petersburg State University (PUBLISHER • RU)
DOI10.21638/spbu17.2020.402
OpenAlexW3135171498
LanguageEN
Citations received1
References cited15

This article investigates the concept of identity: the research objective is to consider the principles that can be used to unite various approaches to describing the emergence and transformation of human identity. The research method is a comparative analysis of significant theories of Western philosophy in terms of the achievements of modern interdisciplinary research. Within Western philosophy, most concepts of identity can be classified as belonging to individual- centric or socio-centric research models. Therefore, such a distinction serves as the starting point to discuss the emergence and transformation of the concept of identity. The provided analysis reveals two facts. First, the investigation starts either from individual human experience or from social communication structures, this choice determining further research as individual-centric or sociocentric. Second, it is ultimately impossible to reduce an individual experience or social effect to their opposition: both individual and social beings determine the emergence and functioning of human identity. Hence, human identity should be considered as a result of interaction between individual and social beings. Within contemporary epistemology, the activity realism approach provides a theoretical foundation for explaining identity as an outcome of human active cognition and the transformation of the environment. Thus, this article provides a theoretical foundation for the empirically confirmed fact that human identity is determined by all influential factors present in the lifeworld. Any theory that neglects any efficient causes for the formation of identity in concrete circumstances of time, space, and culture inevitably fails. The practical value of this article is to create a theoretical foundation for empirical research on natural or artificial transformations of human identity in specific circumstances of cross-cultural communication and competition

Aesthetics · Epistemology · Foundation (evidence · Identity (music · Identity formation · Lifeworld · Political science · Self-concept · Social group · Social identity approach · Social identity theory · Social science · Sociology · Value (mathematics · Computer Science · Cultural Differences and Values · Law · Philosophy · Psychology · Psychology of Development and Education · Social Psychology · Sociopolitical Dynamics in Russia

Tools

Open DOIOpen Access