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GLOSSARY INQUIRY: IDENTITY
Those relatively stable aspects of a system—habits, physical qualities, etc.—that make it coherent and distinguishable from its environment.
In popular terms, human identity is often discussed as inborn, unchanging form, as suggested by such phrases as “the person you’re meant to be.” In complexity terms, identity is more fluid and contextual. Humans and other complex systems are always in a process of becoming.
As complex unities, humans embody their histories. That means that, for humans, identity is both biological and cultural. Genetics and experience both contribute to the on-going emergence of our identities. This point is relevant not just in reference to our personalities, but on the level of our physical structures. For instance, our brains are not static forms that take in information; they are, rather, dynamic forms that transform themselves through experience. The brain you have at the end of reading this sentence will be different from the one you had when you started reading it. And that means that you are different for having read it. For these reasons, one’s identity is considered inseparable from one’s knowledge and action.
As a consequence, education cannot be seen as involving only knowledge; it inevitably and necessarily involves students’ (and teachers’) identities—a realization that brings with it important ethical considerations.
See related terms: Dynamic Structure, Emergence, Observer, Culture, Education.
