<html><head><meta http-equiv="content-type" content="text/html; charset=utf-8"></head><body dir="auto"><br><div>On Dec 14, 2018, at 12:04 PM, William Flynn Wallace <<a href="mailto:foozler83@gmail.com">foozler83@gmail.com</a>> wrote:<br><br></div><blockquote type="cite"><div dir="ltr"><div class="gmail_default" style="font-family:comic sans ms,sans-serif;font-size:small;color:#000000">Not sure who wrote this - Keith or Stuart</div><div class="gmail_default" style="font-family:comic sans ms,sans-serif;font-size:small;color:#000000"><br></div><div class="gmail_default" style="font-family:comic sans ms,sans-serif;font-size:small;color:#000000"><span style="color:rgb(80,0,80);font-family:Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif">There cannot be a "self" without an "other".</span><br></div><div class="gmail_default" style="font-family:comic sans ms,sans-serif;font-size:small;color:#000000"><span style="color:rgb(80,0,80);font-family:Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif"><br></span></div><div class="gmail_default" style="font-family:"comic sans ms",sans-serif;font-size:small"><font color="#500050">I don't know what this means. Our identity is totally tied up in our relationships? If I am alone on the planet I lose my identity?</font></div><div class="gmail_default" style="font-family:"comic sans ms",sans-serif;font-size:small"><font color="#500050"><br></font></div><div class="gmail_default" style="font-family:"comic sans ms",sans-serif;font-size:small"><font color="#500050">?? bill w</font></div></div></blockquote><br><div>In short: yes.</div><div><br></div><div>If you are the only man on the planet, are you still in America? Do you still have your American citizenship? Are you still employed (and thus able to identify with your job)? If you are religious, can you really say that your church still exists? Do your social bonds exist still (like son, father, brother, teacher)? Can you still be considered a misanthrope if there are no people? Do you still have social anxiety or confidence if there are no people? Are you still smart if there is no one left who is dumber than you? </div><div><br></div><div>So yes, your personal identity is deeply tied to other people.</div><div><br></div><div>Read a bit about the effects of solitary confinement if you don’t believe that. </div></body></html>