What is identity? And why are you always you, even though you change?

Question

What guarantees the change and the identity?

Answer 1

Well, for the most part Identity is based on your body. As in fingerprints, facial features & such.

Your SELF, however is the sum of your desires.

Some degree of change is inevitable, so again, to some degree, your desires, and so your self will change over time.

Your desires are contaned within your brain, & by extention within you body. You are always you because you is the name for the body, not the list of desires. (Although if your desires change too quickly, your friends will say "You are not yourself.")

Ultimately though, it's inaccurate to think of the body as a single thing. We are lifeforms moving through a process of change. Your body changes along with your desires, and quite often the change in the body IS what changes the desire.

Hope this helps.

Answer 2

A tough and deeply insightful question!!
Indeed we change, but it is just our 'thoughts' that change and our true self does not change..... that true self is the one behind all thoughts, generating them and owning them. Our true identity therefore is the thinking self..... we may get confused that the thinking self has changed just because its thinking pattern has changed, but that is not true... just as a radio station may switch from playing one programme to another, but remains the same radio station none the less..... it may even change its name or place of broadcasting etc., and yet its output alone can change and the station itself remains the same.

This thinking self within us is in fact the self that wills and decides.... thinking is merely the process for that purpose. Can it not decide to change itself?...... no, it can not, it can only decide to change what it does or how it does or even why it does, but it can not change its own self for whose sake it is deciding on the changes to be made. That is why there is this belief that it can even change body (reincarnation) without changing its own self...... in this context we call it a soul.

The source and owner of our will is our true identity. Exercise of that will guarantees change in the manifestation of that identity without changing the identity itself.

Answer 3

Identity could be explained in 2 ways. One identity is what is used by society and governments to recognise and get the information on the person. In that case it is usually your id card, and/or passport, name, eyes colour, DNA, finger prints, dental records etc. Some of these could be changed.
Other case is the inner identity - it is what you think about yourself. Who you identify yourself with (people who you think is more like you, or you want to be like them). Our inner identity changes when we grow physically and mentally. When you question the world and you previous set values and find that youdon't agree with them anymore - you identity changes to the one that suits your character and behaviour best at this point in your life.

Answer 4

Constantly looking for truth may make us change our opinion on certain things. In some execpetional circumstances, this may go as far as changing our identity. That's how people become American after they have been citizen of other countries.

The way we are and behave has been constructed during our early childhood, and it is unlikely to change. Fortunately, we are seldom taught about politics during our early childhood.

Answer 5

Your immortal soul is your true identity, but in our corporeal form, our memories and the memories about us of those we come in contact with are our identity.

Answer 6

Time makes everything so messy. It ruins everything; knowledge, identity, logic, and so on...

Answer 7

Flutterbypurr...is that you ?


Brigid