The modern meaning of identity as recognition emerged only after the Second World War

Evidence

The general preoccupation in the social sciences with the idea of identity dates from after the Second World War. It marks a new sense of the word, highlighting the individual’s social locations and psychological crises in an increasingly uncertain world. “This is my name,” we now declare, “I need you to recognize me by that name.” More than ever before identity now depends on the other’s recognition of the self. Previously the more common meaning of identity was “sameness,” as in the statement that all Muslims do not have “identical interests,” and attributively, as in “identity card.” — Talal Asad, Formations of the Secular, 778 (#expands, via linked claim)

Categorization

• XREF: connects to: The modern discourse of identity depends on recognition by others and masks suppressed fear; The modern discourse of identity depends on others’ recognition, unlike older meanings of sameness. — Talal Asad, Formations of the Secular:…, 778; Europe as a self-conscious identity boundary is surprisingly modern (nineteenth-twentieth century) — David Theo Goldberg, John Solomos, A Companion to Racial and Ethnic Studies, 175 (+2 more)

Broader Connections

• The modern discourse of identity depends on others’ recognition, unlike older meanings of sameness. #expands (0.92) — Talal Asad, Formations of the Secular, 778