Identity

Is a person anything else than himself? It is a basic question to ask whether a person is defined by the choices he makes and the values he possesses, or whether these are the necessary consequences of the Life he is living. For it is not entirely certain - are we only the collection of our past experiences and memories? Are we fully defined by the unique circumstances in which we have lived our lives, or does each person have something else inside him that defines him? A soul, perhaps? A unique, irreplaceable identity that no other being could possibly make up for? If I had been born in your stead, would I have the same Life you did, or would I have lived it in "my own" style?

It is very easy to assign unique identities to people, such as by judging others' actions. To think "I would've done a much better job", or "I would never do what he did! It was so obviously stupid!" somehow implies that we're all different, that we all have some kind of differentiating factor outside of our lives. But what is that? What unique feature distinguishes us from other human beings?

Pick a person who you think should've made better choices in Life. Imagine yourself having lived his complete life - since the beginning of his existence until this very moment. Do you think you would've made choices any better than him? Would you have attained better results? How would you have known the choices you were making were right, if not for the experiences you had lived before? Do you know something you have not learned in Life? What do we know, except for what Life has shown us and taught us?

The widely-accepted thought that all people are somehow different arises very naturally in our minds. As we have experienced everything only through ourselves, we become attached and identified to our lives. And then it is most common to see other people as entirely different beings.

It may seem incorrect, and even offensive to many people, that our consciences are as replaceable as eggs in a basket. But if you consider the idea, you can begin to realize that feelings such as blame, guilt, shame, and pride are nothing but illusions in a world of puppets in which each puppet believes his own fabric to be somehow unique. You begin to see that all people are simply other "you's" with different priors. Then the feeling of individual achievement and failure begins to seem less important, and a need, a desire for collective symmetry arises. And when you feel this way, it is wonderfully easy to perceive help between people as a most natural thing to do.

Aliam vitam, alio mores