William James’ 3 aspects of Identity; “the sum total of all a person can call his”

Identity is a framework for organising information about a person or self. According to William James’ tripartite categorisation, there are 3 aspects of identity: Material (includes what is tangible), social (interactions with society and reaction of others) and personal (the ego and personal thoughts). He recognised that a clear sense of self not only came from things inside a person, but things outside the person as well. Identities are also results of our experiences and are constantly evolving over time in response to new experiences. It shapes our future responses both cognitively and emotionally.

In order to device effective conservation efforts, we must look into how Singaporeans view the environment as part of their identity in terms of their material, social and personal aspect.

Singapore is a garden city with trees and plants planted beside almost every road, and parks or park-connectors are situated nearby every home. As our country progresses with the development of many man-made structures, there has also been an increase in green areas and parks for recreational use. Currently, natural greenery occupy 40% of Singapore’s land area. Though much of the green area are not primary forests, there is much space for many species to live. Thus this consists the material self (according to William James) and we see that nature and wildlife constitutes a large portion of it.

The social aspect however is key to determining sustainable conservation efforts. In order for conservation acts to be sustained, it must receive recognition and public acceptance in order to boost awareness and attain more support for future works. Failure to gain recognition and support may result in the abandoning of conservation works and a decrease in effectiveness.

The material and social self can determine the personal self and vice versa. Individuals have the capacity to think for themselves and take a stand in conservation by inspecting their purpose and conscience and also understanding themselves.

On top of the 3 aspects of self, developing an affiliation with nature can motivate conservation acts. This affiliation can be an emotional affinity or special relationship with nature. This results from personal experience and involvement with nature as children and also came from parents who encouraged the love of nature. This affiliation from childhood is sustained if they were supported by a social network. As a result, an environmental identity of the ecological self may emerge. This sense of identity transcends the individual and encompasses one’s position as part of a living ecosystem”. Thus we truly see the importance of the social self in developing an identity and affiliation with nature.