Article December 30, 1933 Issue

Personality, Individuality, Identity

ALBERT F. GILMORE, M. A., LITT. D.

Christian Science draws a distinction between personality, as generally understood, true individuality, and identity. Personality in its usual meaning relates to the false sense of man, that is, to the mortal and material; individuality and identity to the real, the spiritual man, whom God creates. We learn that the word "personality" derives from the Latin word personare, which signifies to sound through, personare itself being derived from per, through, and sonare, to sound, terms used in relation to the mask (persona) worn by players on the stage to represent a makebelieve character. How appropriately, then, does the term "person" represent a counterfeit of something, and that something, the real man! We may, then, justifiably inquire regarding the nature of spiritual man, which a person, the material sense of man, counterfeits. In other words, What are true individuality and identity?

This query turns us to the Christian Science textbook, "Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures," where on page 513 Mrs. Eddy writes, "Spirit diversifies, classifies, and individualizes all thoughts, which are as eternal as the Mind conceiving them." Here, manifestly, the word "thoughts" is used in the sense of ideas, since Mind's thoughts must of necessity be ideas. Furthermore, we learn that ideas are, first of all, diversified, that is, they differ one from another. These ideas are also classified according to their several characteristics; but each idea possesses its own specific qualities and its own form or mode of expression. In other words, each idea is individualized.

Now "individual" means, primarily, "not divided"; and individuality implies the possession by an idea of that which is characteristic of it and which cannot be taken away or separated from it.

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