What is "identity"

Identity \I*den"ti*ty\, n.; pl. Identities. [F. identit['e], LL. identitas, fr. L. idem the same, from the root of is he, that; cf. Skr. idam this. Cf. Item.]

1. The state or quality of being identical, or the same; sameness.

   Identity is a relation between our cognitions of a thing, not between things themselves.
   --Sir W. Hamilton.

2. The condition of being the same with something described or asserted, or of possessing a character claimed; as, to establish the identity of stolen goods.

3. (Math.) An identical equation.

c.1600, "sameness, oneness," from Middle French identité (14c.), from Late Latin (5c.) identitatem (nominative identitas) "sameness," from ident-, comb. form of Latin idem (neuter) "the same" (see identical); abstracted from identidem "over and over," from phrase idem et idem. [For discussion of Latin formation, see entry in OED.] Earlier form of the word in English was idemptitie (1560s), from Medieval Latin idemptitas. Term identity crisis first recorded 1954. Identity theft attested from 1995.

n. 1 sameness, identicalness; the quality or fact of (several specified things) being the same. 2 The difference or character that marks off an individual from the rest of the same kind, selfhood. 3 A name or persona—the mask or appearance one presents to the world—by which one is known. 4 Sense of who one is. 5 (context algebra computing English) Any function which maps all elements of its domain to themselves. 6 (context algebra English) An element of an algebraic structure which, when applied to another element under an operation in that structure, yields this, second element.

1. n. the distinct personality of an individual regarded as a persisting entity; "you can lose your identity when you join the army" [syn: personal identity, individuality]

2. the individual characteristics by which a thing or person is recognized or known; "geneticists only recently discovered the identity of the gene that causes it"; "it was too dark to determine his identity"; "she guessed the identity of his lover"

3. an operator that leaves unchanged the element on which it operates; "the identity under numerical multiplication is 1" [syn: identity element, identity operator]

4. exact sameness; "they shared an identity of interests" [syn: identicalness, indistinguishability]

In philosophy, identity, from ("sameness"), is the relation each thing bears just to itself. The notion of identity gives rise to many philosophical problems, including the identity of indiscernibles (if x and y share all their properties, are they one and the same thing?), and questions about change and personal identity over time (what has to be the case for a person x at one time and a person y at a later time to be one and the same person?).

It is important to distinguish the philosophical concept of identity from the more well-known notion of identity in use in psychology and the social sciences. The philosophical concept concerns a relation, specifically, a relation that x and y stand in if, and only if they are one and the same thing, or identical to each other (i.e. if, and only if x = y). The sociological notion of identity, by contrast, has to do with a person's self-conception, social presentation, and more generally, the aspects of a person that make them unique, or qualitatively different from others (e.g. cultural identity, gender identity, national identity, online identity and processes of identity formation).

In mathematics an identity is an equality relation A = B, such that A and B contain some variables and A and B produce the same value as each other regardless of what values (usually numbers) are substituted for the variables. In other words, A = B is an identity if A and B define the same functions. This means that an identity is an equality between functions that are differently defined. For example, (a + b) = a + 2ab + b and are identities. Identities are sometimes indicated by the triple bar symbol ≡ instead of =, the equals sign.

Identity may refer to:

An identity in object-oriented programming, object-oriented design and object-oriented analysis describes the property of objects that distinguishes them from other objects. This is closely related to the philosophical concept of identity.

Identity is a novel by Franco-Czech writer Milan Kundera, published in 1998. It is possibly his most traditional novel in terms of narrative structure. It's also one of his shortest novels.

1. Redirect Identity

Identity is a reality/game show, hosted by Penn Jillette and produced by Reveille where contestants could win prize money of up to by matching 12 strangers one-by-one to phrases about their identities.

Identity is the second studio album by American R&B group 3T. The album was first released independently and was then released through Warner Music. The album spawned two singles including "Stuck On You" and "Sex Appeal" and the Tredox remix for "Sex Appeal" features their cousin DEALZ. In Germany, the album was re-titled Sex Appeal.

Identity is the second album from the Canadian R&B singer Raghav. In 2009, on Michael Jackson's 51st birthday, the album was exclusively released in a concert in New Delhi, India on Universal Music which includes a worldwide release set for 2010.

In psychology, sociology, anthropology and philosophy, identity is the conception, qualities, beliefs, and expressions that make a person ( self-identity) or group (particular social category or social group). Identity may be distinguished from identification; identity is a label, whereas identification refers to the classifying act itself. Identity is thus best construed as being both relational and contextual, while the act of identification is best viewed as inherently processual. That process can be creative or destructive.

However, the formation of one's identity occurs through one's identifications with significant others (primarily with parents and other individuals during one's biographical experiences, and also with "groups" as they are perceived). These others may be benign—such that one aspires to their characteristics, values and beliefs (a process of idealistic-identification), or malign—when one wishes to dissociate from their characteristics (a process of defensive contra-identification) (Weinreich & Saunderson 2003, Chapter 1, pp 54–61).

A psychological identity relates to self-image (one's mental model of oneself), self-esteem, and individuality. Consequently, Weinreich gives the definition "A person's identity is defined as the totality of one's self-construal, in which how one construes oneself in the present expresses the continuity between how one construes oneself as one was in the past and how one construes oneself as one aspires to be in the future"; this allows for definitions of aspects of identity, such as: "One's ethnic identity is defined as that part of the totality of one's self-construal made up of those dimensions that express the continuity between one's construal of past ancestry and one's future aspirations in relation to ethnicity" (Weinreich, 1986a).

Gender identity forms an important part of identity in psychology, as it dictates to a significant degree how one views oneself both as a person and in relation to other people, ideas and nature. Other aspects of identity, such as racial, religious, ethnic, occupational… etc. may also be more or less significant – or significant in some situations but not in others (Weinreich & Saunderson 2003 pp26–34). In cognitive psychology, the term "identity" refers to the capacity for self-reflection and the awareness of self.

The inclusiveness of Weinreich's definition (above) directs attention to the totality of one's identity at a given phase in time, and assists in elucidating component aspects of one's total identity, such as one's gender identity, ethnic identity, occupational identity and so on. The definition readily applies to the young child, to the adolescent, to the young adult, and to the older adult in various phases of the life cycle. Depending on whether one is a young child or an adult at the height of one's powers, how one construes oneself as one was in the past will refer to very different salient experiential markers. Likewise, how one construes oneself as one aspires to be in the future will differ considerably according to one's age and accumulated experiences. (Weinreich & Saunderson, (eds) 2003, pp 26–34).

Sociology places some explanatory weight on the concept of role-behavior. The notion of identity negotiation may arise from the learning of social roles through personal experience. Identity negotiation is a process in which a person negotiates with society at large regarding the meaning of his or her identity.

Psychologists most commonly use the term "identity" to describe personal identity, or the idiosyncratic things that make a person unique. Meanwhile, sociologists often use the term to describe social identity, or the collection of group memberships that define the individual. However, these uses are not proprietary, and each discipline may use either concept and each discipline may combine both concepts when considering a person's identity.

The description or representation of individual and group identity is a central task for psychologists, sociologists and anthropologists and those of other disciplines where "identity" needs to be mapped and defined. How should one describe the identity of another, in ways which encompass both their idiosyncratic qualities and their group memberships or identifications, both of which can shift according to circumstance? Following on from the work of Kelly, Erikson, Tajfel and others Weinreich's Identity Structure Analysis (ISA), is "a structural representation of the individual's existential experience, in which the relationships between self and other agents are organised in relatively stable structures over time … with the emphasis on the socio-cultural milieu in which self relates to other agents and institutions" (Weinreich and Saunderson, (eds) 2003, p1). Using constructs drawn from the salient discourses of the individual, the group and cultural norms, the practical operationalisation of ISA provides a methodology that maps how these are used by the individual, applied across time and milieus by the "situated self" to appraise self and other agents and institutions (for example, resulting in the individual's evaluation of self and significant others and institutions).

Identity is Korean singer BoA's seventh Japanese studio album, released on February 10, 2010, nearly two years since The Face.

Identity is an EP released by Irish band Time Is A Thief. The EP was recorded and mixed by Ciaran O'Shea in Cork, Ireland.

"Identity" is a single from American Melodic metalcore band August Burns Red. Released on May 26, 2015, it is the second single from their seventh studio album Found in Far Away Places. The song was nominated for Best Metal Performance for the 2016 Grammy Awards, losing to Cirice by Ghost.

In post-tonal music theory, identity is similar to identity in universal algebra. An identity function is a permutation or transformation which transforms a pitch or pitch class set into itself. For instance, inverting an augmented triad or C4 interval cycle, 048, produces itself, 084. Performing a retrograde operation upon the pitch class set 01210 produces 01210.

In addition to being a property of a specific set, identity is, by extension, the "family" of sets or set forms which satisfy a possible identity.

George Perle provides the following example:

D

D

E

F

F

G

G

D

C

C

B

A

A

G

2

3

4

5

6

7

8

+

2

1

0

11

10

9

8

4

4

4

4

4

4

4

C=0, so in mod12:

1

2

3

4

5

6

7

−

9

10

11

0

1

2

3

4

4

4

4

4

4

4

Thus, in addition to being part of the interval-4 family, C-E is also a part of the sum-4 family.

Identity is a 2003 American mystery psychological thriller film directed by James Mangold from a screenplay written by Michael Cooney. The film stars John Cusack, Ray Liotta, Amanda Peet, Alfred Molina, Clea DuVall and Rebecca De Mornay.

While it is not a direct adaptation of the 1939 Agatha Christie whodunit novel And Then There Were None, which was adapted for feature film in 1945, 1965, 1974, 1987 and 1989, the plot draws from the structure the novel first popularized in which 10 strangers arrive at an isolated location which becomes temporarily cut off from the rest of the world, and are mysteriously killed off one by one. The first several scenes also use a reverse chronology structure.

Identity is the only album by Zee, a short-lived side project of Pink Floyd keyboardist Rick Wright, a duo partnership consisting of Wright and Dave Harris of New Romantic outfit Fashion, released in 1984. Wright later stated that he felt Identity was an "experimental mistake" that should never have been released. The album was written and produced by Wright and Harris and all the lyrics were penned by Harris.

The album makes heavy use of the Fairlight CMI, a musical synthesizer popularized in the 1980s. This creates a very electronic sound that persists through every track.

"Confusion" was released as a single with "Eyes of a Gypsy" as the B-side.

Identity is a British police procedural drama television series starring Aidan Gillen and Keeley Hawes, airing in the UK during July–August 2010. Concerning identity theft, the series was created and written by Ed Whitmore, a writer most noted for his work on the BBC's Waking The Dead and the acclaimed ITV mini-series He Kills Coppers. The remake rights have been sold to the ABC Network in America who are developing their own version of the show. ITV confirmed that the show had been cancelled on 19 October 2010, after a single series.

is a song by Japanese band Sakanaction. It was released in July and August 2010 as the band's first single after the release of their four album Kikuuiki in March 2010. The band's first summer-time release, "Identity" was an upbeat song featuring Latin percussion and lyrics about self-identity. In September 2011, it was added to the band's fifth studio album, Documentaly.

The song was well reviewed by Japanese music critics, who enjoyed the Latin percussive elements and the song's upbeat melody. Commercially, the song reached number twelve on Oricon's single chart and number seven on the Billboard Japan Hot 100, performing worse than the band's previous single " Aruku Around" (2010), but better than their earlier singles " Sen to Rei" (2008) and " Native Dancer" (2009).