The Identity Framework

1. Introduction to Basic Concepts:

Things and Their Existence: Every ‘thing’ that exists is a ‘thing.’ This ‘thing’ can be tangible, like a book, or intangible, like an idea. Let’s define a ‘thing’:

• Thing: an arrangement of properties
• Property: A qualitatively or quantitively measurable part of a things form or function that may be given a term to name it.
  • g. type 1: color, flexibility, roughness
  • g. type 2: mechanical property, chemical property, visual properties
• Attribute: the specific value, measure, or quantification of the variable for a property
  • g. (adjectives) red, rigid, soft

For every arrangement of parts there is a small detail (micro) and large structure (macro) view. This is about the composition or form of how a ‘thing’ is composed.

• Composition: The coherent assembly of parts in a system or thing.
• Micro Composition (parts): The specific properties and attributes of individual elements within a system or thing that contribute to its detailed characteristics and behaviors.
• Macro Composition (system): The arrangement of elements and their features that collectively define a system or thing’s overall identity and function.

2. Location of Things:

Spatial and Temporal Location: Every specific ‘thing’ exists at a particular place (spatial location) and at a specific time (temporal location). That would be what is called an ‘instance’. The ‘thing’ itself is the broader concept or category to which the ‘instance’ belongs.

Time: change in a sequence

Timecode: A particular point in time

Instance: a specific ‘thing’ at a particular timecode, at a particular spatial location, with its own specific macro and micro composition

Having understood an ‘instance’ at a single point in time and space, let’s explore temporal coherence which allows us to track it through consecutive points in time and space.

Coherence (adjective): The quality of points or parts of physical or conceptual things, when linked together, are harmonious and not in conflict. Physical parts include particles, molecules, components, or assemblies. Conceptual parts include properties, fundamental concepts, emergent concepts, and constructs.

Temporal Coherence (adjective): The quality by which changes of something’s form or location in a sequence adheres to predictable, causal patterns, ensuring that each state follows naturally from its predecessor without sudden or unexplained disruptions.

With each passing moment, an ‘instance’ of a ‘thing’s’ existence is causally linked to its prior location in time and space. That causal linkage of both time and space is what is known as temporal coherence. That temporal coherence is what allows us to trace the ‘thing’s’ journey as an ‘instance’ through time and space.

Furthermore, it’s crucial to differentiate between two layers of spatial coherence. The first pertains to the coherence of all the properties within the arrangement at any single point in time. The second type of coherence relates to how the arrangement and its spatial location causally moves through space with each passing moment of time.

Example:

Thing-A (Timecode: 1, Location: 1,2,3): Arrangement: A,B,C,D,E

Thing-A (Timecode: 2, Location: 2,3,4): Arrangement: B,B,C,D,E

Thing-A (Timecode: 3, Location: 2,3,4): Arrangement: C,A,B,E,D

These aspects of a ‘thing’ allows an ‘instance’ to remain that ‘instance’ not just in one snapshot of the ‘thing’s’ location in time and space, but also through time and space.

With our newfound understanding of how to track an ‘instance’ through time and space, two natural questions may follow: How is an ‘instance’ created? How is it destroyed? Reviewing the composition of an ‘instance’ can shed light on its birth and death, and by extension, on the birth and death of its ‘identity’.

The Creation of an Instance: To grasp the concept of the creation of an ‘instance’, we need only review what an ‘instance’ is. An ‘instance’ refers to a specific ‘thing’ situated at a distinct location in time and space. This ‘thing’ is an arrangement of properties. Thus, creating an ‘instance’ involves forming an arrangement of properties at a particular point in time and space. Those properties may have existed independently or been taken from other pre-existing instances.

Before sharing an example, let’s look at the idea of property as is defined for this paper:

Property: A qualitatively or quantitively measurable part of a things form or function that may be given a term to name it.

We can think of property as what makes up an element. An element is what people typically may think of when using the word ‘part’ or ‘component’.

Element: An element is a type of physical or conceptual object. The object may be considered an element when it is a well defined and distinct object that is related to the other objects in the set. It is related to the other objects by a minimum set of criteria that makes up what type of thing the object is. The criteria may be that the objects are alike in some way or belong to a specific structure or system.

The element may not be broken down into simpler parts for that specific set type. It may be broken down into simpler parts into a sub-set type to the current set the element is a member of.

A set may exist in a hierarchy of sets. The set may make up structure. That structure may be a system or classification. The structural set may be naturally occurring or creator defined. The more relevant the element object is to the structural coherency or system’s primary behavior (use/effect), the more elemental the element may be considered.

e.g. Chemical Elements (e.g. Hydrogen), Mechanical Element (e.g. piston), Story Elements (e.g. characters)

Now using all of that understanding, let’s look at an example for the creation of an instance.

When making a sandwich, individual ingredients like slices of bread, lettuce, tomato, and turkey come together in a coherent manner. When assembled, they transform into a sandwich. This new arrangement of properties gives birth to the identity of a sandwich, distinct from its individual ingredients.

When all of these ingredients are combined into a sandwich, the flavors and textures create a different experience when we eat it than if we were to eat all of those ingredients separately. You may like ketchup or mustard on your sandwich but likely do not enjoy eating it all on its own.

The Destruction of an Instance: The process of destroying an instance essentially reverses its creation. This occurs when an ‘instance’ or a specific ‘thing’ undergoes disintegration, loses coherence, or faces a disassembly process. Consequently, the arrangement of properties within the ‘thing’ no longer remains intact. This breakdown transforms the ‘instance’ into its more fundamental properties, which can then potentially be repurposed for the creation, maintenance, or transformation of another ‘instance’ of a ‘thing’.

To continue with the previous sandwich instance example, that sandwich could be disassembled back into its base ingredients and cease being that ‘instance’ of that ‘thing’. Those base ingredients could then be reused in a different sandwich of a different type. Perhaps that new sandwich has a different bread or different condiments such as barbeque or hot sauce.

3. Composition of Identity:

What is Identity: When we talk about the ‘identity’ of a thing, we’re referring to what makes that thing unique or distinct from others.

The most defining quality of a ‘thing’ is its specific spatial and temporal location, where no other ‘thing’ can simultaneously exist. The second most unique quality of a ‘thing’ is its specific micro and macro composition.

Conclusion 1: This leads us to a conclusion of that the composition of the identity of a ‘thing’ is the ‘instance’ of the ‘thing’.

4. Effect of Identity – Instances and Things:

Instance (Specific):

1. Instance: A particular occurrence or manifestation of an object or concept.
   • Example: A specific copy of “Moby Dick” that you hold in your hand.
2. Referent: The actual entity in the world to which a word or phrase refers.
   • Example: When you say “this book,” you’re referring to that specific copy of “Moby Dick” you’re holding.
3. Specific Sense: The unique way we experience or understand a particular instance, encompassing sensory perceptions, emotions, and cognitive associations.
   • Example: The texture and smell of the pages of that specific “Moby Dick” book, the weight as you hold it, the sound of its pages turning, and the memories you associate with reading it.
4. Specific Signifier: While specific instances can have unique names or designations, they can also be referred to by more general terms or pronouns.
   • Example: “That book,” “it,” or “this.”

Thing (General):

1. Thing (in a general sense): A broader category or concept that can encompass multiple instances.
   • Example: The concept of “books” in general, without referring to any specific book.
2. Signified: The general idea or concept that a word represents.
   • Example: The idea of “book” that comes to mind, encompassing all books without focusing on any particular one.
3. General Sense: The broader, more abstract way we understand or experience a category, which might be based on shared characteristics of its instances.
   • Example: The general understanding of books as sources of knowledge, entertainment, or art; the shared sensory experiences like the typical smell of books or the sound of pages.
4. General Signifier: The word or symbol used to represent a general idea or concept.
   • Example: The word “book.”

Conclusion 2: This gives us a conclusion that there are various combinations of instance, thing, referent, signified, sense, and signifier which gives us a rich, complicated, and important set of factors to consider when speaking about the identity of a thing.

5. Conclusion Summary:

Identity is a Combination: At its core, the identity of a thing is twofold. Firstly, it’s the instance of the thing itself, defined by its micro and macro composition and its unique position in time and space. Secondly, it’s the effect of that instance, which encompasses how we experience, perceive, and linguistically refer to it. To wrap that all up in a more refined definition can be stated as:

Identity (noun): A representation that is ‘the same’, in conceptual form, as a specific instance of a thing in its arrangement of properties (referent, composition) and its collection of qualities (sense, effects).