Who Do You Think You Are? There Are Two Answers
Why Read This
What Makes This Article Worth Your Time
Summary
What This Article Is About
Philosopher Joanna Lawson of Oklahoma State University argues that the question “who are you?” actually has two distinct answers, corresponding to two fundamentally different kinds of identity. Metaphysical identity — whether you are a doctor, a woman, or a Canadian — is determined not by personal choice but by socially constructed success conditions that society imposes. Drawing on feminist philosophers like Iris Marion Young and the theorist Ásta, Lawson shows that no amount of wanting or feeling makes you belong to a social category; you need external, societal recognition.
By contrast, existential identity — who you are at the level of your deepest values and cares — is something you author yourself through a process philosopher Richard Moran calls avowal: a first-personal, active mode of self-knowledge that is simultaneously self-discovery and self-creation. Lawson uses the lived experience of trans people as a powerful illustration of what happens when these two identities are misaligned by society, concluding that allowing metaphysical and existential identities to align is a profound social good — a gift we should strive to extend to everyone.
Key Points
Main Takeaways
Two Kinds of Identity
Identity splits into metaphysical (socially determined) and existential (self-determined) kinds, resolving the long debate between existentialists and feminist philosophers.
Society Sets the Rules
Metaphysical identity depends entirely on whether you meet socially pre-established success conditions — not on desire, feeling, or personal declaration.
Avowal: Discovery Through Creation
Existential identity is known through “avowal” — an active, first-personal process in which self-discovery and self-creation are inseparable, like a sculptor and their statue.
Misalignment Has Real Costs
When metaphysical and existential identities fail to align — as with many trans people in restrictive contexts — the result is systemic harm and psychological damage.
Some Fences Serve a Purpose
Carefully guarded metaphysical categories like “doctor” exist for good reasons; the social cost of restricting them is justified by the benefit of public trust and safety.
Being Seen Is a Social Gift
Having one’s existential and metaphysical identities aligned — being fully seen by others for who one truly is — is a profound good that society should endeavour to give everyone.
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Article Analysis
Breaking Down the Elements
Main Idea
Identity Is Dual: Social and Self-Made
Lawson resolves a long-standing philosophical standoff by arguing that both existentialists and feminist philosophers are correct — they are simply describing two different things. Metaphysical identity is externally granted; existential identity is internally authored. Understanding this distinction clarifies real-world injustices and points toward a more inclusive social ethics.
Purpose
To Reconcile and Advocate
Lawson writes to settle a philosophical dispute by offering a unifying framework, but she also writes with a social purpose: to advocate for the value of identity alignment as a societal obligation. The piece moves from abstract metaphysics to a concrete call to action, making the case that being seen for who you truly are is not merely a personal benefit but a social good.
Structure
Personal Anecdote → Theoretical Framework → Applied Ethics
The article opens with a personal anecdote (the piano teacher), moves into a survey of competing philosophical positions, introduces a two-part conceptual distinction, explores each component in depth, then applies the framework to the concrete case of trans identity before concluding with a normative claim about social responsibility. Anecdotal → Analytical → Normative.
Tone
Reflective, Rigorous & Compassionate
Lawson’s tone is philosophically precise — she engages seriously with Sartre, Iris Marion Young, and Richard Moran — while remaining warmly accessible and personally invested. The article ends on a note of ethical compassion, advocating for social change with quiet conviction rather than polemical force.
Key Terms
Vocabulary from the Article
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Tough Words
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The intrinsic, defining nature of something that makes it what it is; in existentialist philosophy, the fixed qualities that determine a being’s identity.
“We do not have an essence until we give ourselves an essence.”
Characterized by hostility, prejudice, or discrimination against transgender people, often manifesting in the refusal to recognize their self-identified gender.
“In many transphobic contexts, the success condition that determines gender in the metaphysical sense I’ve described is sex assigned at birth.”
Relating to agency — the capacity to act deliberately and make choices; knowledge that is “agential” is produced through active commitment rather than passive reception.
“…it is active, agential knowledge.”
Having restrictive or tightly controlled conditions for membership in a category; a social context in which certain identity traits are very difficult or impossible to attain.
“In impermissive contexts like these, a trans man who was assigned female at birth cannot be a man.”
The philosophical practice of explaining complex phenomena entirely in terms of simpler components; relevant here as the error of reducing identity entirely to either social or individual factors alone.
“Wanting to be a doctor, or feeling like a doctor, doesn’t make you a doctor.”
The act of categorizing or defining oneself according to one’s own sense of who one is, without necessarily requiring external validation or societal recognition.
“…we [trans people] are systematically constructed in ways that run contrary to our own self-identifications.”
Reading Comprehension
Test Your Understanding
5 questions covering different RC question types
1According to Lawson, existential identity is determined by society’s success conditions for a given category, just as metaphysical identity is.
2Why does Lawson use the metaphor of a sculptor carving a statue to explain existential identity?
3Which sentence best captures Lawson’s reason for concluding that the suffering caused by misaligned metaphysical and existential identity is acceptable in the case of doctorhood?
4Evaluate these three statements about Lawson’s philosophical framework.
Sartre’s view that “existence precedes essence” is cited by Lawson as support for her account of existential identity.
Lawson argues that feminist philosophers like Iris Marion Young are entirely wrong about identity because they ignore the self.
According to Lawson, a person can have a unified self when their metaphysical and existential identities align.
Select True or False for all three statements, then click “Check Answers”
5What can be inferred about Lawson’s view of society’s moral responsibility from the way she discusses metaphysical identity?
FAQ
Frequently Asked Questions
Metaphysical identity refers to factual, publicly verifiable traits — such as being a doctor, a woman, or a Canadian — that depend on meeting socially established success conditions. Existential identity refers to deeper, private truths about a person’s values and cares. Lawson’s key insight is that these two kinds of identity operate by entirely different rules and can come into conflict with each other.
Drawing on philosopher Richard Moran, Lawson uses “avowal” to describe the distinctive way we come to know our own minds: not by observing ourselves like scientists examining data, but by actively committing to a self-understanding. The uncertainty we feel about our own identity is practical rather than theoretical, and resolving it is more like making a decision than forming a prediction. This is why existential self-discovery and self-creation are the same process.
Lawson uses the experience of trans people as a concrete illustration of identity misalignment. In transphobic contexts, the metaphysical success condition for gender is often sex assigned at birth, making it impossible for a trans person to be metaphysically recognised as their gender — even though they clearly are that gender existentially. Citing philosophers Talia Mae Bettcher and Andrea Long Chu, Lawson shows this misalignment creates a paradox with real psychological and social costs.
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This article is rated Advanced. It employs sophisticated philosophical vocabulary (avowal, metaphysical, intersubjective, normative) and requires readers to follow complex conceptual distinctions across competing theoretical frameworks. The argument demands careful inferential reading, as Lawson’s normative conclusions about social responsibility are not stated outright but emerge from the interplay of her two-part identity framework.
Joanna Lawson is an assistant professor of philosophy at Oklahoma State University. Her significance here lies in her ability to synthesise two traditionally opposed traditions — existentialism and feminist philosophy — into a unified and practically applicable framework. Writing for Psyche, the philosophy and psychology magazine published by Aeon Media, she brings academic rigour to a general audience, making her argument accessible without sacrificing its philosophical precision.
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