Kataphatic identity -- the positive approach

Being What You Want: problematic kataphatic identity vs. potential of apophatic identity? (Part #2)

---

[Parts: First | Prev | Next | Last | All] [Links: To-K | From-K | From-Kx | Refs ]

---

Descriptions of the nature and identity of divinity commonly use every possible positive attribute, whether expressed in words, in images or in music. In Islamic belief, for example, this takes special form in the 99 Perfect Names and Attributes of Allah -- all of them names of praise.

In the case of individuals, many approaches are taken to expressing and defining identity. These may include:

• family and kinship relationships, blood lines, heritage, especially important in relationship to heraldry
• accreditation, notably recognized in orders of precedence
• feats of strength and accomplishment, notably in sport, given focus by sporting medals and records
• celebrity as recognized by "star systems" and celebrity lists
• academic achievements, degrees and awards, possibly supported by an array of significant publications
• inventions, notably those protected by patent
• relative wealth, and its recognition on lists such as those of Fobes
• cultural achievements, as notably recognized in music and other arts
• awards for contributions to human welfare, such as the Right Livelihood Award
• recognized personal qualities such as beauty (Miss Universe), or courage (as in military and rescue action)
• ownership:
  • property ("goods and chattels"), possibly including other individuals (through bonded labour and slavery)
  • high performance equipment (weapons, vehicles, computers)
• profession, expertise and career, whether certified by diplomas or experience
• personal display of symbols:
  • religious (cross, hijab, etc),
  • political (national flag, poster, etc)
  • team (colours, etc)
  • clothes, jewellery, and other status symbols

Whilst such devices may be given greatest visibility and significance at the global level (Olympic Games, etc), they of course have their analogues at the national and local levels. People may be encouraged by their context to aspire to some such recognition. Failure to do so may contribute to ensuring that a person is instantly forgettable -- even to be defined as a "nobody".

However the kataphatic approach is more egalitarian than this argument so far implies. Authorities are assiduous in ensuring a degree of recognition of individuals, defining them unambiguously in far more specific ways. These include:

• identity numbers and profiles, related to certificates of birth, marriage and death, increasingly focused on biometric profiles by which an individual's identity is defined and associated with a name
• tax numbers relating to income records through which identity as a tax payer is established
• social security numbers, notably where these substitute for other means of establishing identity as a citizen
• residence as required for government records in many countries
• registration on the electoral role through which identity as a voter is established
• official licenses for driving a vehicle, for radio/TV,
• property ownership records
• educational records
• medical records, including certification of physical and mental disability
• military records
• employment records
• security clearance
• criminal records, where appropriate, possibly even tattooed identification numbers if incarcerated
• DNA records, possibly as an extension of bionic measures, and irrespective of any criminal association

Market research necessarily devotes considerable resources to identifying people as distinct consumer types. For example the 10 identified by Experian in its Mosaic Global framework are: Rural Inheritance, Post Industrial Survivors, Low Income Elders, Metropolitan Strugglers, Hard Working Blue Collar, Routine Service Workers, Career and Family, Comfortable Retirement, Bourgeois Prosperity and Sophisticated Singles. Within this global group classification, each country contains its own unique typology and these have country-specific names such as High Rise in Paris (France), Local Shop Keepers (Greece), Busy Bush and Beach (Australia), Green Idealists (Denmark), Expats and Super Rich (Hong Kong), Celtic Roots (Ireland), Suits and Gumboots (New Zealand) and Southern Blues (USA).

Membership societies may also be assiduous in maintaining profiles of their members and a mean of establishing their identity. This has in recent years been extended into the profiling in professional and social networking sites on the web.

At the personal level, individuals define each other in terms of sets of attributes, qualities such as "nice", "good", "helpful", etc that echo values attributed to divinity -- necessarily on a far larger scale. Definitions of identity may however be much simpler, offered in tangible physical terms: "tall", "short", "fat", "thin", "strong", "weak", etc. -- and in terms of associated behaviors and constraints. Gender and ethnicity are perhaps the most obvious.

The impersonality of many of these definitions of identity is partially compensated by the intimate personalization associated with various forms of personality typing. It is perhaps in this sense that the appeal of astrological signs and horoscopes should be understood. More conventional psychological approaches, on which employers may depend, include Myers-Briggs Type Indicator, enneagram types, DISC assessment, Five Factor Model, Lüscher Colour Test. Static understandings of identity may be modified by the possibility of development through various degrees and levels as indicated by the AQAL system, or various forms of initiation promoted by secret and esoteric societies (Varieties of Rebirth: distinguishing ways of being "born again", 2004).

Some of these approaches to defining identity are associated with fitting people into teams, or assessing their performance in teams, notably the Belbin Team Role Inventory. This highlights the issue of stereotyping and the degree to which individuals may be miscast in roles for which others find them appropriate.

---

[Parts: First | Prev | Next | Last | All] [Links: To-K | From-K | From-Kx | Refs ]