How Identity Matters
‘Know Thyself’ is a fine concept, but who are you?
You have no obligation to your former self. They are dumber than you, and they don’t exist. — Hank Green
The brain processes at work that enable you to have an identity are just as powerful as the external influences that are giving you these ideas.
Whether you were born into a working, middle or upper-class family, consider yourself a Christian, Hindu, Buddhist, or Atheist — You probably had a decent education and for the most part, believe that you are right.
Beliefs are a tiresome ordeal that we all have. When they are challenged you have two distinct options:
- You fight.
- You accept.
It’s a simple and as difficult as that.
Initially our anti-change natures will fight. THIS IS WHO I AM. It is righteous and just, it allows me to flourish in society and in my community.
Unfortunately, from a purely biological perspective, there are no beliefs. You are neither a good person, nor a bad one. True, there is an inherent need to fit in to your group, to reproduce and to gain support. It’s little more than brain chemistry. Serotonin, dopamine, oxytocin.
“Lasting happiness comes only from serotonin, dopamine and oxytocin.”
― Yuval Noah Harari
If I think about saying something hurtful to a friend, I don’t feel good. Now tell me — is that because I’m a nice person who wouldn’t want to upset someone else, or is it simply the depletion of brain chemicals that would give me a negative feeling? Is empathy the sign of a caring soul, or a person with a more erratic biological brain?
If I think about kissing the person I love, I experience a rush of wonderful feelings. How lucky I am to know someone who shines as bright as the sun, I want to give them everything they desire to express my unfathomable love. — Oxytocin, Serotonin, Dopamine.
Your identity is based on what your brain has learned — through evolution or nurturing — to feel good or bad about. Both fortunately and unfortunately, this can be changed. Molded into violence, hatred, love and compassion.
If you believe that your God is great then you might not be able to accept someone else’s. You might want to kill them, but in the name of your God you justify it. You don’t think you’re evil, because your brain tells you your beliefs demand it. Murderer becomes Martyr time and again.
If you believe in equal rights then you probably feel a significant amount of hatred towards, say, a Nazi. Punching them in the face doesn’t feel like a bad thing to do, I know because I am also a human (fun fact). You don’t think you’re evil, because your brain tells you your beliefs demand it.
Acceptance of opposing identities is a struggle I don’t know if we are capable of achieving entirely. The history of humankind is so entwined with imagination, delusions and beliefs that have allowed us to become this global network. Could it be that we are simply acting out our biologies, or is there something more to who we are?
