On Identity

Abstract

It is always difficult to talk about identity because it is intrinsically a problematic concept. Rather than an answer or a statement, it is primarily a question. The problems of identity only become conceivable with the question: “Who am I?” which has not always been an obvious one. Therefore, it is not an overstatement to say along with Zygmunt Bauman that the problem of identity appears to be first of all a questioning, i.e., the wording of a problem. “Identity never ‘became’ a problem, it has always been a problem, it started as a problem.2 Any serious reflection on identity…

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