Understanding identity in the thought of Charles Taylor and Dariush Shayegan

 
Extended Abstract
Introduction: What is identity? Concisely, identity tells us who we are and creates a connection between the past, present, and future; and it has a meaningful characteristic. Identity is one of the centric and yet controversial concepts that have occupied the minds of many political and social thinkers and scholars. The aim of this article is to establish a form of dialogue between Shayegan and Taylor about the issue of identity and self-understanding: what points does Shayegan enumerate to Taylor, and what insights does Taylor offer to Shayegan. Based on this, we will seek to answer these fundamental questions in this article: what understanding and perception of identity have Shayegan and Taylor offered? And following this question, what teachings and ideas do these two thinkers offer for understanding the concept of identity?
Methods: Since this article pursues the achievement of a correct understanding of identity, we tried to explain the two concepts of identity and bricolage identity in Shayegan and Taylor's thought by presenting a conceptual framework. A deep understanding of these keywords provides the basis for a correct understanding of the ideas and thoughts of these two thinkers.
Results and Discussion: Shayegan and Taylor, have made great efforts in their works to answer the question of what identity is. One has discussed the issue of identity in the traditional and Eastern world, while the other has explored the modern world and the formation of modern identity. These teachings can be formulated in the form of five components: the first component is understanding identity in the form of a story and narrative; Both thinkers try to connect the past, present and future in the form of a perception, narrative, or story of the “Self” (individual or collective). The second component is understanding the identity in an in-between state. This position shows the person in a situation where he is caught in the middle of two patterns of understanding the world or two ways of life. The third component is the understanding of identity in communication and dialogue with others; and following that, the transformability of identity. The fourth component is to propose the concept of complex identity or hybrid identity. The fifth component is their emphasis on the role and importance of moral foundation, great values, and basic teachings of traditions and religions in shaping and constructing identity, and our understanding of ourselves.
Conclusion: The reason for the significance and focus on the issue of identity lies in the fact that: in order to understand many of the social and political events and transformations in the contemporary societies, we need to behold these changes from the perspective of identity. Although numerous works and articles have been written about identity and self-understanding, addressing various aspects of this issue, identity is fluid and ever-changing, necessitating continuous reflection and contemplation. Shayegan and Taylor, as two prominent contemporary identity researchers, have provided profound knowledge and a comprehensive form of understanding identity and self-understanding in their works, which carries important clues and teachings for comprehending the issue of identity.