Reflection

The original idea that I set out to find was how witnessing domestic violence can
effect early childhood development. After researching this question I came across how it
can affect the development of a childs self-esteem and sense of identity. This brought
me to question what really makes up our identity. Is identity something we are born
with? Is it something that experiences contribute to? After roughly researching these
questions it occurred to me that the answer that I was really in search for was: Who am
I in relation to the other people on this earth? As I compiled more and more knowledge
on the sociological and philosophical findings to this question I began to branch off and
find my own. With an understanding that reality is relative, with an understanding of how
our identitys are socialized, Humes theory of identity through time, and Heideggers
theory finding ones authentic self, I came to my own conclusion that Who we are is
not one single Identity rather it is the impact that we have on the lives of the others
around us and the contribution we have made toward their life experience.
In researching my topic I discovered quite a bit of information. The most useful
source that I found was the Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy. This source provided
a basic understanding of the fundamental philosophical ideas dealing with what we are
and who are. From there, I searched around for more philosophical schools of thought
pertaining to identity and came across Heideggers Being and Time from What
Philosophy can tell us About Everyday Life. This source helped me understand what
the authentic self means and how to find it. I also found useful information regarding
Identity from the website: A philosophers Take were I discovered Humes theory on
Identity and developed an understanding on how experiences contribute to who we are.
When searching more about Humes theory I came across a book online called The

Philosophical Review in which I was able to find a perfect application of Humes theory
to implement in my essay. At this time it occurred to me that I did not address who we
are in a social context and I made the decision to search around for what sociology has
to say about identity and self. In searching I found a Lecture on YouTube about the
social construction of reality and contributed that idea to my own conclusion of who I
am. Lastly I discovered the theories of dramaturgy and looking glass self in an online
book about the social constructions of reality. Throughout my research I did notice the
correlation that websites that offered unsubstantial information often lacked references
and proper citations.
I was honestly surprised with how much information there is on the philosophical
and sociological concepts of self, identity, and reality. My original research inspired me
to change directions entirely but after I discovered the topic of identity, I was able to find
an immense amount of information and formulate my own understanding of who I am in
this world.
In my essay I wrote informally because the subject matter I was dealing with
would not have made sense unless I included the words we and I. In addition, after
gathering a concrete understanding of my topic, I felt the need to include we when
explaining certain concepts.
The small critique group was very conducive to the progress of my project.
Before the critique I was very confused on what format to write my essay in, but after
reading other classmates papers it was very clear to me on how I would revise and
format my final paper.

This project differs from any other research project I have completed because
this project was actually involving a substantial topic that I could relate to. When
educating myself on this topic I felt like I was actually enriching my perspective rather
than just retaining useless knowledge on something I really have no purpose of
knowing. I have also for the first time gathered the philosophical perspective on who I
am instead of just attributing my own idea of who I am and why I am that way.
I learned so much throughout this project. I learned about who I am and why I am
that way and I learned about reality and our socialization. The most meaningful concept
I learned during this project was Heideggers view on finding ones authentic self. I will
apply Heideggers philosophies to my life in hopes that I will not be inauthentic but that I
will authentically be who I am meant to be.