Dysfunctionings (random thoughts contd.)

This is again related to dysfunctional psychology, only this time, it’s thoughts multiple personality disorder. I’ve always taken for granted that every person has an identity, some essence to define them by. It was only when I thought about this in greater detail that I noticed how baseless this assumption was. Take someone with multiple personality disorder for instance- that person would truly think they have more than one identity; does this not make them human? Or does this make them more than one human? Someone with no clear idea of their identity could well not be considered human at all by this assumption. Obviously this is not possible. But then what is it that distinguishes us from animals if not the fact that we are able to identify ourselves? I guess this could just revert back to the question of what exactly makes ones identity. Is it dependant on your thoughts or emotions, your memories, or is identity merely physical and bodily? Some even go to say that one’s identity is defined by what society views them as, which may seem crazy at first glance, but when you think about it, it’s often found that we do distinguish ourselves a lot by what others see us as. Now that I think about it, I’m wondering whether an identity is necessary at all, considering I can’t even define what this “identity” consists of…