Tonya M. Fleetwood

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Paper:"Personal Identity and Community"
Year in School: College Freshman
Class: Conversations of the West: Renaissance & the Antiquities
Date written: February 28, 2001

Trying to give definitions to certain words is impossible, because they mean something different to everyone. To me, I believe that a person’s environment helps to make up who they are. If a person lives in a certain surrounding long enough, then that person will adapt to the lifestyle and common characteristics of that atmosphere. When I think about who I am and the way I view things, it is a result of the area in which I lived. I lived in a town of only 200 people my entire life, so the word ‘community’ gives me a sense of shelter, love, safety, and closeness. My environment of never having to lock my house or my car and of knowing every single person in my town has given me my identity of being very trusting and compassionate.

In the case of Oedipus, he didn’t know that his fate was residing in the city he was ruling. If he knew that, then he wouldn’t have been there. Thus, that fact that he ultimately married his mother and murdered his father doesn’t really show who he truly is. Thebes had been struck by a plague and since Oedipus cared so deeply for his polis he would do anything to put an end to it. It was the plague-stricken Thebes that brought out his desperateness to please his people. He was trying to make his people (of Thebes) more satisfied/happy. That is who he was; a man who worked with his situation to try to make it better. That is why he left his ‘hometown’ in the beginning, because he was taking the news of the oracle and trying to prevent the awful results from happening. He wasn’t being selfish by making this choice, because such consequences of marrying his mother and killing his father are extremely undesirable. The fact the he killed Laius is just another example of how his surroundings forced him to choose to react in the way that he did, since it was self-defense. Oedipus chose to go against what the gods said would happen, which is probably what anyone would do. Oedipus really didn’t want to believe the gods. This is unlike the story of Aeneas. He chooses to follow the advice of the gods.

The night the Greeks invaded Troy, Aeneas dreamed of Hector, who told him about the battle. Venus was the one who told Aeneas not to kill Helen since she wasn’t the cause of the war. When Venus tells him to go to Carthage, he goes. From the very beginning Aeneas listens to the gods. Home is a place that offers strength, persona, character; identity. When Aeneas and the others are without a home, they are at the mercy of the gods, which is thus their surroundings/environment. When Aeneas is welcomed into Dido’s home, he praises her. She is tricked into loving him by the gods. Aeneas and Dido, thus, unite. However, the gods advise Aeneas that his fate does not lie with Dido, rather he needs to go to Italy. So Aeneas leaves Carthage, as well as Dido, and goes to pursue his fate. Throughout the whole book, Aeneas is striving for the state. Like Oedipus, Aeneas shapes himself according to what is presented to him (the advisement of the gods in both situations, but ultimately their environments mold them into who they really are).

From a different perspective, the letters of Seneca do not really contain gods at all, rather they contain a common thread of philosophy, also friendship. He believes that a person should strive for a life that includes friends and excludes the fear of one’s own death. He thinks that a person who believes that they are not happy, will not be. He wants a person to forget their past, not worry or think about the future, rather focus on the present. Seneca conveys that you should learn from your friend, that you should be looking for yourself ‘in’ your friend, sort of like a mirror. This is how you discover who you are, by using what you have around you (which is your friend) to learn and become stronger. Seneca focuses a lot on self. It’s not about love or feelings, everything revolves around you. He tries to completely eliminate fear, because fear causes worry, which does not equal happiness. If you’re strong, you can ‘give’ things. You should be constantly seeking knowledge, which is just like how Socrates felt.

Like Seneca, Socrates feels that truth is important. Actually, truth is the most important thing to Socrates. He is portrayed as a man who doesn’t respect the gods since he tries to teach the youth about things that the rest of society doesn’t agree with. Socrates is a man who thinks that he is the most important in the society. He feels that no one is on his high level. He considers himself above everyone else. He is this way because of the environment of his society. The way the state views things, an example being the fear of the unknown, is what makes Socrates feel that he is more wise and intellectual. Socrates’ accusers are afraid of the unknown, of what Socrates may be introducing to the youth. It’s this fear that causes them to charge him. So, this accusation doesn’t portray the Socrates’ self is a criminal, it merely depicts that he was a man who thought that true happiness lies with the truth and knowledge. He felt that friendship, helpfulness and human understanding were desirable qualities in the shaping of one’s identity, like Seneca.

Individuality is a combination of many things, however, a person’s environment shapes the perspective and attitude. The way a person encounters certain situations and relationships contributes to the way that person looks upon others, as well as their community. With Aeneas and Oedipus, the gods advised them both. Their reactions weren’t exactly the same, but the nature of their attitudes were ultimately that they took what was presented to them in their community/environment and used it to shape their identity. With Seneca and Socrates, they didn’t have the advice of the gods like Aeneas and Oedipus, their ‘journeys’ were through philosophy and friendship. Thus, they used this surrounding of knowledge to mold them into whom they were. The constant quest for knowledge determined the way they thought and acted.



Go to Documents index Paper:"Personal Identity and Community" Year in School: College Freshman Class: Conversations of the West: Renaissance & the Antiquities Date written: February 28, 2001 Trying to give definitions to certain words is impossible, because they mean something different to everyone. To me, I believe that a person’s environment helps to make up who they are. If a person lives in a certain surrounding long enough, then that person will adapt to the lifestyle and common characteristics of that atmosphere. When I think about who I am and the way I view things, it is a result of the area in which I lived. I lived in a town of only 200 people my entire life, so the word ‘community’ gives me a sense of shelter, love, safety, and closeness. My environment of never having to lock my house or my car and of knowing every single person in my town has given me my identity of being very trusting and compassionate. In the case of Oedipus, he didn’t know that his fate was residing in the city he was ruling. If he knew that, then he wouldn’t have been there. Thus, that fact that he ultimately married his mother and murdered his father doesn’t really show who he truly is. Thebes had been struck by a plague and since Oedipus cared so deeply for his polis he would do anything to put an end to it. It was the plague-stricken Thebes that brought out his desperateness to please his people. He was trying to make his people (of Thebes) more satisfied/happy. That is who he was; a man who worked with his situation to try to make it better. That is why he left his ‘hometown’ in the beginning, because he was taking the news of the oracle and trying to prevent the awful results from happening. He wasn’t being selfish by making this choice, because such consequences of marrying his mother and killing his father are extremely undesirable. The fact the he killed Laius is just another example of how his surroundings forced him to choose to react in the way that he did, since it was self-defense. Oedipus chose to go against what the gods said would happen, which is probably what anyone would do. Oedipus really didn’t want to believe the gods. This is unlike the story of Aeneas. He chooses to follow the advice of the gods. The night the Greeks invaded Troy, Aeneas dreamed of Hector, who told him about the battle. Venus was the one who told Aeneas not to kill Helen since she wasn’t the cause of the war. When Venus tells him to go to Carthage, he goes. From the very beginning Aeneas listens to the gods. Home is a place that offers strength, persona, character; identity. When Aeneas and the others are without a home, they are at the mercy of the gods, which is thus their surroundings/environment. When Aeneas is welcomed into Dido’s home, he praises her. She is tricked into loving him by the gods. Aeneas and Dido, thus, unite. However, the gods advise Aeneas that his fate does not lie with Dido, rather he needs to go to Italy. So Aeneas leaves Carthage, as well as Dido, and goes to pursue his fate. Throughout the whole book, Aeneas is striving for the state. Like Oedipus, Aeneas shapes himself according to what is presented to him (the advisement of the gods in both situations, but ultimately their environments mold them into who they really are). From a different perspective, the letters of Seneca do not really contain gods at all, rather they contain a common thread of philosophy, also friendship. He believes that a person should strive for a life that includes friends and excludes the fear of one’s own death. He thinks that a person who believes that they are not happy, will not be. He wants a person to forget their past, not worry or think about the future, rather focus on the present. Seneca conveys that you should learn from your friend, that you should be looking for yourself ‘in’ your friend, sort of like a mirror. This is how you discover who you are, by using what you have around you (which is your friend) to learn and become stronger. Seneca focuses a lot on self. It’s not about love or feelings, everything revolves around you. He tries to completely eliminate fear, because fear causes worry, which does not equal happiness. If you’re strong, you can ‘give’ things. You should be constantly seeking knowledge, which is just like how Socrates felt. Like Seneca, Socrates feels that truth is important. Actually, truth is the most important thing to Socrates. He is portrayed as a man who doesn’t respect the gods since he tries to teach the youth about things that the rest of society doesn’t agree with. Socrates is a man who thinks that he is the most important in the society. He feels that no one is on his high level. He considers himself above everyone else. He is this way because of the environment of his society. The way the state views things, an example being the fear of the unknown, is what makes Socrates feel that he is more wise and intellectual. Socrates’ accusers are afraid of the unknown, of what Socrates may be introducing to the youth. It’s this fear that causes them to charge him. So, this accusation doesn’t portray the Socrates’ self is a criminal, it merely depicts that he was a man who thought that true happiness lies with the truth and knowledge. He felt that friendship, helpfulness and human understanding were desirable qualities in the shaping of one’s identity, like Seneca. Individuality is a combination of many things, however, a person’s environment shapes the perspective and attitude. The way a person encounters certain situations and relationships contributes to the way that person looks upon others, as well as their community. With Aeneas and Oedipus, the gods advised them both. Their reactions weren’t exactly the same, but the nature of their attitudes were ultimately that they took what was presented to them in their community/environment and used it to shape their identity. With Seneca and Socrates, they didn’t have the advice of the gods like Aeneas and Oedipus, their ‘journeys’ were through philosophy and friendship. Thus, they used this surrounding of knowledge to mold them into whom they were. The constant quest for knowledge determined the way they thought and acted.