Practical Identity

null, Claude Romano

The philosophical literature on the problem of personal identity has focused almost exclusively on the question of numerical identity through time. I will attempt to show why this interest is too narrow and why we should rather consider a second concept of identity, that I call practical identity, in order to address the more important philosophical problems about our identity as it matters for us primarily and is a practical issue in our lives. Indeed, it is only by focusing on this practical identity that we will be able to meet a double challenge : to account for our responsibility toward it and for the place of truth in the way in which we present ourselves to others.