Amid a dizzying swirl of cultural change, vibe shifts, and a media ecosystem impotent to sustain user attention because of the velocity of information it facilitates, Western cultural consciousness has managed to maintain an unwavering focus on identity. From Plato to Descartes to modern-day philosophers, whether in the academy or in pop culture, the idea of personal identity consistently finds relevance across time, geography, and category. “Who am I?” and “How do I know?” are persistently live questions.
The idea of having a true self goes back at least to Cicero, who made a distinction between individual characteristics that distinguish us from others and fundamental properties that define us at the core. This latter understanding of identity, the truth of who we are, is “one of the distinctive ideals of modern life,” writes philosopher Joshua Knobe.
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