Summary

All narrative theories of identity address issues associated with values, responsibility and moral dilemmas. They assert that in order to comprehend and resolve problems such as the continuity of experience and accountability for actions, we must expand numerical or psychological unity to encompass the perspective of narrative unity, as this presupposes reference to the subject’s character, personality traits and experiences. Within this framework, we can consider the factors that shaped the subject, including motivation (the individual’s intentions), i.e. the elements that make up the coherent biographical narrative reflecting the subject’s existence. We thus assume that identity has a processual nature; something that is in constant development, rather than something permanent that is given once and for all. Naturally, this ongoing process leads to changes in identity, but this does not imply an interruption of the story, a break in continuity. The construction of identity is understood as a continuous process that perpetuates the key stories/history of the acting subject, constituting their essential narrative identity.