Social Identities and Self-Esteem. On the Concept of Identity
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.3989/isegoria.2025.73.1628Keywords:
Identity, Appiah, Copp, Self-EsteemAbstract
This paper aims to address the concept of identity, which has become ubiquitous not only in academic works, particularly in social sciences and humanities, but also in political discourse, media, and everyday use. Despite its prominence and widespread use, it is a notion that has not been adequately explained or clarified, whose meaning is often taken for granted or seen as somewhat elusive. Here, I discuss two philosophical contributions that may help fill this gap and shed light on contemporary uses of identity. First, I will present Kwame Anthony Appiah's conception of social or collective identities. Next, I will explain David Copp's account of identity as self-esteem, which offers some important insights that, as I will argue, can complement Appiah's theory. Finally, I will discuss some of the risks associated with identity claims to show that they make sense in light of both explanations.
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Grant numbers PGC2018-093573-B-I00
