Individuality over identity: individual freedom and responsibility within social identity

Abstract

ABSTRACT Identity can be understood as the process in which people feel at home inside a class, which is defined by symbolic borders that distinguish some people from others. There are a number of sources of identity, but most relate to belonging to a group. Identities are often based on opposition against different values and life visions: anticommunists vs. antifascists, pro-life vs. abortion, traditional family vs. homo-affective relationships, etc. Moreover, there are identities based on the dimensions of race, gender, class, and religion that often oppose other people. In any of these cases, there are individuals that share a common condition and are, thus, similar and identify with one another and with the group. Political and ethical evolution, globalisation, and technology have enhanced individual freedom to a point that makes it possible for some ascribed identities to be denied in favour of others. Although the consideration of groups of people might eventually enhance the freedom of individuals, identity is also a source of violence. The ultimate individual freedom seems to be the freedom to understand ourselves as unique individuals who might think, feel, and act differently than the group to which we otherwise belong.