Entity, Identity and Unity

I propose a fourfold categorisation of entities according to whether or not they possess determinate identity-conditions and whether or not they are determinately countable. Some entities – which I call ‘individual objects’ – have both determinate identity and determinate countability: for example, persons and animals. In the case of entities of a kind K belonging to this category, we are in principle always entitled to expect there to be determinate answers to such questions as ‘Is x the same K as y?’ and ’How many Ks are there satisfying condition C?’, even if we may sometimes be unable in practice to discover what these answers are. But other entities apparently lack either determinate identity, or determinate countability, or both. In these terms I try to explain certain important ontological differences between familiar macroscopic objects and various rather more esoteric entities, such as the ‘particles’ of quantum physics, quantities of material stuff, and tropes or property instances. This revised version was published online in August 2006 with corrections to the Cover Date.     

社会认同理论视野下的社会认同威胁

社会认同威胁是指,在社会比较的情况下,由于群体地位的差异,某一群体的个体在认知、情感上,对自我、所属群体身份的不承认,而产生的一种心理上的疏离感和剥夺感、自卑感。社会认同威胁的结果包括3类：脱离群体、改变群体的状态、接受消极的社会认同结果。外显“社会威胁”的测量方法以问卷调查为主。测量“社会威胁”的内隐方法则以心脏血压和平均动脉血压作为测量指标。社会认同威胁的实验研究将群体分化为内群体和外群体,操纵群体地位的差异,通过模拟社会游戏来了解群体的社会认同威胁及其生理反应。未来的研究将重点关注下述问题：对社会认同威胁概念的建构、跨文化研究及其内隐过程的分析     

Cultural Identity and the Expression of Depression: A Social Identity Perspective

The present research interrogates the greater tendency for Chinese people to somaticize depression relative to Westerners. Drawing from a social identity perspective, three studies were conducted examining the role that cultural norms play in symptom expression. In an initial study, we confirmed greater somatization, minimization of distress and suppression of emotional expression among Chinese participants compared with Australians (Study 1). Asian normative expectations of collectivism moderated these effects such that somatization was higher among those who endorsed collectivism norms, but only among Chinese participants. Studies 2a and 2b found that only when Asian participants identified strongly with Asian culture did collectivism norms predict somatic symptoms. These findings have implications for practitioners working with people from Asian cultures, highlighting that it is not culture per se, but the endorsement of normative expectations in the context of strong identification with cultural groups that predicts which symptoms of depression are emphasized. Copyright © 2016 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Social Identity and Intergroup Conflict

This paper explores why people identify with social groups and what this identification signifies for their sense of self, status in society and intergroup conflict. We describe various theories of social identity to elucidate ways in which individuals can negotiate their different social identities, and what this means for intergroup relations. We consider the implications for both majority and minority group members, and those from high and low status groups. We show that social identification is an essential part of an individual’s social existence, and that such identification is inextricably related to intergroup conflict. While overarching common identities have been hailed as a possible panacea for conflict, we demonstrate that such identities have differential effects for minority and majority group members. There is a serious tension between the assimilationist preference that the majority wishes for minority members to adopt, and the integrationist position that the minority group themselves prefer. We conclude with a call to focus research efforts on how to balance the needs of the many and the few in pluralist and unequal societies.     

Social Identity and Corporate Mergers

Corporate mergers require proper human resources management to reach their financial and strategic objectives and minimize negative consequences for employee well‐being. Understanding the antecedents of employees’ identification with the merged organization during the corporate merger is crucial, because stronger post‐merger identification results in less conflict and higher levels of motivation. Unfortunately, employees often identify more strongly with their pre‐merger organizations than with the merged organization. One influential approach to understanding the processes underlying organizational identification is the social identity approach ( Tajfel & Turner, 1986 ; Turner, Hogg, Oakes, Reicher, & Wetherell, 1987 ). Research applying this perspective to organizational mergers shows that levels of identification with the merged organization are partly explained by status and dominance differences of the involved organizations, by motivational threats and uncertainties during the merger, and by the representation of the post‐merger identity. Leaders and managers of corporate mergers are able to influence these processes and, thus, to provide a path for successful merger integration.     

From Social to Political Identity: A Critical Examination of Social Identity Theory

Interest in the concept of identity has grown exponentially within both the humanities and social sciences, but the discussion of identity has had less impact than might be expected on the quantitative study of political behavior in general and on political psychology more specifically. One of the approaches that holds the most promise for political psychologists is social identity theory, as reflected in the thinking of Henri Tajfel, John Turner, and colleagues. Although the theory addresses the kinds of problems of interest to political psychologists, it has had limited impact on political psychology because of social identity theorists' disinclination to examine the sources of social identity in a real world complicated by history and culture. In this review, four key issues are examined that hinder the successful application of social identity theory to political phenomena. These key issues are the existence of identity choice, the subjective meaning of identities, gradations in identity strength, and the considerable stability of many social and political identities.     

非同一的统一:重新审视物质构成

在大卫像与大理石以及心与身之间的关系问题上,传统观点不是陷入同一论,就是沦落为某种形式的二元论。物质构成范畴作为一种"非同一的统一"关系,有望走出一条非还原的物理主义路线。一方面,根据模态论证,被构成的事物不是必然地同一于构成它的事物,在被构成的事物的本质上,构成观坚持了外在主义。另一方面,具有构成关系的两个事物,通过"双向"借入或派生,能够彼此共享模态属性以外的绝大部分属性,故不是二元分离而是相互统一的。物质构成作为一种新的哲学范畴有重要的形而上学和心灵哲学意义。     

Individualism/Collectivism and Social Identity

On the basis of data collected in three representative national surveys carried out in 1990, 1991 and 1993, the relationship between an individualistic/collectivistic orientation and social identity is investigated. Individualism/collectivism is measured using a specially constructed Bulgarian scale. Individualists and collectivists are characterized by specific profiles of social self-identification which differ only slightly from one another. The characteristic of the individualists' profile is that they tend to identify themselves with the political opposition as being republicans, as not being religious, as being distant from those who are rich and close to those of low social status. In contrast, the collectivists profile themselves as people who identify with a socialist political orientation, as being monarchists, religious, close to those who are rich, as standing higher in the social hierarchy and as connected with the structures of power. In terms of the direction of social transition, collectivists emerge as the more conservative part of Bulgarian society. A strongly European identity is associated with those who score highly on the individualism scale. (© 1997 by John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.)