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Document Details : Title: The Sociology of Identification Author(s): JENKINS, David Journal: Ethical Perspectives Volume: 23 Issue: 2 Date: 2016 Pages: 231-258 DOI: 10.2143/EP.23.2.3157182 Abstract : Identification is recognised as an important part of the value people are able to enjoy in their lives. It is by identifying with our relationships, projects, occupations and causes that our lives are able to go well. However, I argue in this article that once we understand identification less as a unitary concept and more as a spectrum along which people can more or less deeply identify, it becomes apparent that possibilities for identification can be profoundly affected by socio-economic phenomenon. Where people are insecure and unable to predict the futures they will confront, their ability to identify deeply with those parts of life that have the potential to give it meaning can be considerably weakened. If we have reason to value identification – specifically its deeper manifestations – then it is necessary to first recognise the contingency of the concept and find the means to secure it as a sociological possibility. |
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