If you read my last post and
actually made it to the end (congratulations!), you probably noticed that my
thought process tends towards the complex. In fact, complexity and all it
entails is in many ways my fundamental worldview. It is no coincidence that my
specialization as a physicist is biological soft matter, which encompasses the
study of complex systems characterized by the interactions of the many
individual parts. But that is a topic for another post which will be coming
soon. The point here is that as soon as I start thinking about one topic, I
immediately begin to find connections, interactions, and juxtapositions with
other topics in a seemingly complex web. This is another of those stories.
It begins like this. I
recently started listening to some 90s techno music, which for me is kind of
ironic because this is music that not only would I have not actually listened
to in the 90s, but would have even said that I very strongly disliked. Now, I
am pretty picky about what kinds of this music I actually do like, but
nonetheless it is significant that I listen to it at all.
What occurred to me about
this change in my tastes is the realization that I had formed a type of musical
identity, and assigned to this identity certain characteristics or attributes
(I like this or that, I don’t like this or that, this represents who I am as a
person). The identity part is essentially an emotional or psychological
investment in an interest, activity, or preference that confers upon said
interest a significance beyond the thing itself. At this point we cease to
merely enjoy the thing for what it is, and we become emotionally attached to it
and invest part of who we envision ourselves to be in it. We identify with it,
and it becomes incorporated into our identities. These interests and activities
come to define us rather than just occupy our time.
Having this realization over
the relatively unimportant activity of listening to techno music clued me in to
the fact that I form these identity constructs constantly, and that many if not
all of my activities become infused with this extra meaning. At the same time,
it also became clear that this aspect of identity is illusory. In some sense it
does not exist outside of our heads, and is merely a psychological creation. Ultimately,
as this simple example of musical choice illustrates, we limit who we are and
what we do based on these illusions. For life choices and decisions far more
significant than what music we are going to listen to, this can be severely
limiting. Why we do or do not decide to do or be something often comes down to
this underlying identification.
I should make clear that I
am speaking about identity only as a basic psychological process. The issue of
the social construction of identity and the power dynamics that often dictate
our choices is another matter entirely. As always, these issues are complicated
by the fact that we live in an oppressive society. Patriarchy always rears its
ugly head and fucks things up somehow. My take on identity is informed by the
privileged status I enjoy. For many, identity is a matter of life and death as
some identities are not allowed or encouraged to exist. When talking about
musical choices, identity is in some important sense a very voluntary process.
This is not the case for those who, by virtue of being true to themselves, find
that they have been made targets for oppression. I would argue that these folks
must still confront the issues around identity that I am writing about now, but
the game is completely different without the privileged status that I enjoy. Nonetheless,
I think it is important to acknowledge and understand how we become attached to
the things in our life and lose sight of our inner being.