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Christina Caro
Professor Julia Intawiwat
English 112
December 8, 2015
Seven Billion
It is estimated that our universe contains around 100 - 200 billion galaxies. Out of
the vastness of the entire universe our existence takes place in a singular galaxy upon a
singular planet that is not even as large as most stars. On this planet we exist in, it is
estimated that there are around 7 billion people currently living. Out of 7 billion, only one
life, only one story, only one identity is mine. This realization of incomprehensibility has
driven me to seek to one answer:
Out of the 7 billion other people alive on this planet, who am I?
As formidable as it may be, this is not the first time in history someone has inquired
such a question; and in efforts to alleviate the obscurity of our existence some
fundamental philosophical and sociological approaches regarding who we are in
relation to the world around us, will be expounded upon in this essay.

Space
Hubble
Telescope
photograph
of galaxies
in the
observable
universe.
Each shape
is a single
galaxy.

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The first obstacle to tackle when navigating through the perplexing journey of
discovering what it means to exist, is understanding the concept of reality. Sociology,
the study of human culture and society, describes reality as a social construction in
which people create through their actions and interactions. (Hiebert) Sociology views
reality not as something given to us rather it is viewed as something transmitted by us.
So basically everything we know to be reality is what we have learned from other
people; and the social reality in which we live may not even be real. (Hiebert) So in
answering the question of who I am in relation to the world, I cannot look to what society
tells me that I am, as it is based on a subjective construction of reality and cannot
explicitly answer my question. However, I can begin to understand the complexity of
what it means to identify who I am in an ever changing reality and instead of searching
for who society tells me I am, I can search for who I am in society.
So how do we discern who we are if reality is constructed? Sociologist Charles
Cooley supposed that our identity and self-view are solely the product from what other
people think about us. This theory is called the looking glass self. Cooley assumed
that our sense of self is derived from the idea that we imagine how we look to others,
draw conclusions based upon their reactions to us, and then develop our personal
sense of self. In other words, peoples reactions to us are like a mirror in which we are
reflected. (The Social Construct of Reality)
The illustration on the following page can better explain this concept in visual terms.

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Expanding upon this idea, Sociologist Erving Goffman formed the notion that
there is not a singular existing identity that a person holds, rather a set of identities that
people create to be used in different scenarios. (The Social Construct of Reality)This
theory is called dramaturgy and it is based on the idea that life is similar to a play and
each person puts on an act appropriate for each role. For example, when a person is
working they are playing the role of an employee and when that person goes home to
their children they are playing the role of a parent. Goffman said that these roles make
up our identities in society.
So, from a sociological perspective, when responding to the question of who we
are in this world, who we are is relative to how we are socialized to be. However, when
seeking the answer to my question, while sociology touches upon our being in a social
context, it is imperative to also address what philosophical findings could help me
understand who and what I am.

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Philosophy, being the study of the fundamental nature of knowledge, reality, and
existence, provides us with various schools of thought that directly pertain to our
personal identity and our existence in relation to our surroundings. Concurrently,
Philosophy offers an array of solutions to this specific question: What sort of things,
metaphysically speaking, are you and I and other human people? In response to this
question, from the Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy, Philosophers have proposed
these answers:

We are biological organisms. (Paul Snowdon)

We are temporal parts of animals: each of us stands to an organism as the first

set stands to a tennis match. (David Lewis)

We are spatial parts of animals: brains, perhaps, or parts of brains. (Campbell

and McMahan)
We are partless immaterial substancessoulsor compound things made up of

an immaterial soul and a material body. (Swinburne)

There is nothing that we are: we don't really exist at all (Russell and
Wittgenstein).

With an understanding on what one metaphysically is, the question of What am I? can
be answered. After coming to this understanding one can begin to dissect the concept
of personal identity in further answering the question of Who am I?
This question of who am I? is thoroughly examined by Philosopher Dave Hume.
When looking at the teachings of Philosopher Dave Hume, the concept of Identity is
explained in great depth through his publishing: Treaties of Human Nature. In The
Treatise, Hume describes ones self identity as nothing but a bundle or collection of
different perceptions, which succeed each other with an inconceivable rapidity, and are
in a perpetual flux and movement. (Caouette) Hume describes personal identity, when

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thought of as something perpetual through time, as illusion. Hume believes this is
because the bundle of perceptions he explains to be our identity, or sense of self,
changes with each experience. (Caouette) Therefore, there is no one persistent self that
remains static throughout life that one can claim.
Accompanying Humes thought, Terrance Penelhum author of The Philosophical
Review, claims that describing people as single beings when they are constantly
changing over time and may have changed completely, can be seen as contradictory
and pyridoxal. Penelhum gives the example that it seems a contradiction to say John
Smith at two and John Smith at 52 are the same person because they are so different.
Therefore, when seeking the solution to finding out who I am, according to Hume, my
identity is simply a bundle of perceptions relative to the movement of time. Who I am in
this second is different from who I am in the next and so on and so on.
Likewise, understanding the temporality of our existence also clarifies the true
definition of who we are. In correlation to this Idea Heidegger, philosopher and author of
Being and Time, when asked in a lecture how to discover ones authentic self
Heidegger replied, we should simply aim to spend more time in graveyards. (What
Philosophy Can Tell Us about Everyday Life) This idea of selfdiscovery and death can
also be correlated with Chris McCandlesss story from the major motion picture and
novel Into the Wild. In his story Chris goes on a journey to discover true happiness
and leaves behind his family and friends to make a trek to Alaska. Along his way he
makes strong connections with various people in which he continually leaves behind to
reach his end goal of making it to Alaska. After Chris finally makes it to Alaska, he
struggles to survive and meets an unfortunate end after desperately ingesting a

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poisonous plant. Throughout his journey Chris kept a journal in which he wrote all of his
experiences, thoughts, and discoveries. Chris also brought with him a collection of
literature in which inspired him throughout his life. Within the last phases of dying Chris
wrote in one of the books Happiness is only real when shared. So in Chris story facing
death brought him to find his authentic self and the true meaning of happiness.
Henceforth, I with my newfound philosophical and sociological understanding of
my identity, in the search for who I am amongst the 7 billion other people in this world,
have come to a realization. Although I am not one identity, as who I am is a constant
fluctuation of experiences and perceptions, I am still predominantly a singular entity of
my existence. This entity being the only objective piece of my existence in this
subjective reality. In simpler terms, if our reality is made up, the only concrete truth that I
can claim is that within our existence every person we come into contact with has been
altered by our crossing of paths. Whether it be as minute as accidentally bumping
shoulders in the hall way or as great as sharing a lifetime together in marriage every
interaction that we make with one other during our lifespan contributes to the individual
experience that every person on this earth holds. In line with this notion, after our hearts
stop beating and we are no longer involved in the interconnected workings of this earth
our identities will eventually be erased as if we never existed. (Excluding outliers of
historical figures) A hundred years after our deaths no living soul will have knowledge of
the provincial substances we attribute to who are. What will remain however is the
impact that we have on the lives of the others around us and the contribution we have
made toward their life experience. This impact is the only true aspect of who we really
are in this universe, otherwise we may as well not even exist.

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In response to the perplexing question in which I originally set out to answer, out
of the 7 billion other people alive on this planet, I am nothing more than the impact that I
leave on the lives of the individuals in which I cross paths with and the contribution that I
have made toward their life experience. Everything else is nothing more than ashes in
the wind.

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Works Cited
Caouette, Justin. "Personal Identity: Who Are You? What Am I?" A Philosophers Take.
N.p., 26 Sept. 2012. Web. 09 Dec. 2015.
Hiebert, Dennis, Dr. "What Does 'The Social Construction of Reality' Mean?"
Providence University College. Lecture.
Into the Wild. Dir. Sean Penn. Perf. Emile Hirsch, Vince Vaughn, Catherine Keener.
River Road Entertainment Square One C.I.H. Linson Film, 2007. DVD.
Olson, Eric T. "Personal Identity." Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy. The
Metaphysics Research Lab, 20 Aug. 2002. Web. 09 Dec. 2015.
Penelhum, Terence. Hume on Personal Identity. The Philosophical Review 64.4
(1955): 571589. Web.
"Social Constructions of Reality." OpenStax CNX. Rice University, 1 Feb. 2012. Web. 09
Dec. 2015.
"What Philosophy Can Tell Us About Everyday Life." Sites at Penn State. The
Pennsylvania State University, 8 Sept. 2015. Web. 09 Dec. 2015.