Identity and Basic Principles of Reason Captain Muhammad Hassan Al-Tahir

 

 

We start with a question: How do we achieve preservation of identity through the journey of self-understanding from childhood to old age?

 

We find that the essence of a human being doesn’t change over time and their movement in history, despite changes in their observable appearance. This allows every rational person to differentiate between appearance and essence, mission and goal, through questions like “What is the role of a human being in different stages of life?”

 

This leads us to define identity in the era of communication revolution. Identity is the essence of personality, a set of characteristics that distinguish an individual or society.

 

Identity relies on basic principles of reason:

1. *Law of Identity*: A = A, meaning something is itself.

2. *Law of Excluded Middle*: Something is either existent or non-existent.

3. *Law of Opposites*: Something can’t be its opposite at the same time.

 

These principles help us understand that identity is relatively stable despite changes.

 

Identity is influenced by language, thought, and behavior. To preserve our personality:

– Know yourself

– Be honest

– Evolve and adapt

 

Personality adapts through synchrony (adapting to the current situation) and diachrony (evolving over time).

 

The distance between our mental model and its opposite is where we show rationality. 💡