Cinta de Moebio: Revista de Epistemología de Ciencias Sociales

López, A (2016) La constitución de la identidad a través de la relación con el fantasma. Cinta moebio 56: 197-213. doi: 10.4067/S0717-554X2016000200007

PDF

The constitution of the identity through the relationship with ghosts

Alma López (almalopez@bec.uned.es) Departamento de Filosofía, Universidad Nacional de Educación a Distancia (Madrid, España). ORCID: 0000-0001-6547-9436

Abstract

The problem of identity is one of the milestones of philosophical thinking. It is a complex question, a prism with multiple vertices. In this paper I will focus on two key-concepts related to identity, namely, death and community. Death stands as end of life, but as a possibility of it. The ghost "appears", then, in a privileged position for the dialogue and the understanding of this phenomenon. Moreover, as social beings, neither individuals can be separated from the community in which they are registered; nor it is possible to distance the ghosts and functions historically fulfilled in this respect. Throughout the text I will discuss the functions that have been and those that would be of ghosts; understanding ghosts as a referring dialogic and therapeutic constitution of identity.

Key words: identity, ghost, death, community, function.