Write a 6 pages paper on personal identity and the acts of identification. It is their membership of particular groups that are most important in constructing their sense of identity. Thus, personal identity depends on the acts of identification, which individuals use to categorize themselves.

Individuals identify themselves according to the social class they belong to. In every society, there is a hierarchy in which different members belong. the rich and the poor, the leaders and the followers, or the strong and the weak. In early societies, the notion of social class was meant to categorize people according to the jobs they held. Such classification corresponded to the particular level of economic means, social prestige, and access to political power that individuals could afford. However, in modern societies, the notion of social class has changed. For example, in Western societies, social class corresponds more closely to an individual’s social achievements such as education, occupation and income (Marsh et.al, 2007, 26).

Individuals identify themselves according to the place (physical space) that they belong. Physical space is a fundamental sense of identity alongside social interactions. Place identity is in three categories: national, small scale, and outsider identities.

For national identity, people consider themselves members of a particular nation. Here, identity is tied to the practicalities of existing in a particular physical space. Such practicalities include the physical limits within which individuals can travel and the political boundaries of neighbouring communities. One of the critical indicators of identity in this context is political beliefs. Such an indicator is prevalent in countries where a strong sense of nationalism underpins the political ideology of the state. In such countries, national identity is important particularly when one is in a different country. Under ordinary circumstances, being a citizen of any nation is nothing special.&nbsp.