Research Intro

Going back to the roots of philosophy with Plato, Socrates, Aristotle, the importance of the establishment of self- identity has always been emphasized and evident. Every great philosopher in history has capitalized on this subject, discussing how an individual’s development of an identity for him or herself and acknowledgment of one’s true self is crucial to a fulfilled life. Someone who addresses this issue fairly in depth is Martin Heidegger, a German philosopher of the early twentieth century. By Heidegger’s philosophy, self- identity is the ability to differentiate yourself from common life, (“das man”), and be able to form and acknowledge who you are as a person introspectively through experience, openness and caring. Personal growth is achieved through being open to experiences, which then allow for a more well-rounded formation of an identity. This sort of process is shown in Jonathon Lethem’s essay, “The Ecstasy of Influence: A Plagiarism” as well as Andrew Solomon’s piece, “Son”. Where Lethem supports the importance of experience to build an identity, Solomon discusses the idea that no one’s perception or idea of another person can shape how that individual forms his or her own identity.  In contrast, Heidegger defines “das man” as being the inauthentic man who is ever present in society who cannot fulfill his life due to lack of care and ignorance through life, thus incapable of forming a “self-identity” and falling into the pattern of common life (Heidegger 256). Heidegger looks down upon such a lifestyle, as differentiating oneself is one of the most important point Heidegger highlights. He believes that in society everything exists in order to distract one from fulfilling life. To apply this to present day, this would include social media, public radio, reality television, talk shows, anything that ultimately engages in banter that Heidegger would deem “stupid”. While much of recent generations have been shown to fall into this pattern and and lose sense of their true self, Heidegger sees this as simply a product of neglect, ignorance, and carelessness. This sort of attitude and personality is exemplified in Jean Twenge’s essay, “An Army of One: Me”. However, in certain cases, it is unfair for Heidegger to look down and demean people who cannot form a self-identity. People with Dissociative Identity Disorders have a biological impediment to being able to establish a self- identity due to the implications of such disorders which can include memory loss, dissociation from reality, and altered consciousness, such as the character in Martha Stout’s “When I Woke Up Tuesday Morning, It Was Friday”. The philosophical approach of Heidegger, among many other philosophers, in regards to self identity fails when it comes to people with a dissociative identity disorder as it does not take into account that the implications are biological and cannot be helped.