Identitás

Identitás is a term used to describe what makes a person or a group recognizable as a distinct entity. It encompasses self-understanding, social roles, cultural affiliations, memories, and the labels others apply. The concept is used across disciplines such as philosophy, sociology, psychology, anthropology, and political science to analyze how individuals and groups define themselves and are defined by others.

Personal identity concerns the persistence of a person over time. Philosophical accounts examine continuity of consciousness, memory, character, and bodily sameness. The debate distinguishes between numerical identity—whether two descriptions refer to the same person—and qualitative identity, the possession of the same properties.

Social identity focuses on group memberships and categories such as nationality, ethnicity, gender, religion, or occupation. Theories of social identity explore how belonging to a group shapes self-perception, behavior, and intergroup relations, including in-group loyalty and out-group bias.

Identity is formed and renegotiated through socialization, language, media, migration, and life experiences. Transitions—such as adolescence, immigration, or changes in role—can strengthen, blur, or redefine identitás.

In contemporary discourse, questions of identitás intersect with politics, rights, and recognition. Identity politics emphasizes the political importance of group identities, while debates continue about universal rights versus group-specific claims and the risks of essentialism.