ABSTRACT
CENTRAL to any discussion of identity is language. Language is ofttimes construed as just one more kind of behavior–encompassing speaking, reading, writing, and hearing–within a long listing of other kinds of behavior. The names that are adopted voluntarily reveal even more tellingly the indissoluble tie between name and self-image. Borrowing from the language of logic, we may say that any particular object that is referred to is a member of a general class, a representative of that class. The naming sets it within a context of quite differently related classes. The necessity for any group to develop a common or shared terminology leads to an important consideration: the direction of activity depends upon the particular ways that objects are classified. Since values are not in objects but are evaluations of objects, it follows that persons must do their own experiencing in order to do their own evaluating.
