Introduction

Abstract

Identification is the action to attribute “identity” to an item. “Identity” is the state of being identical, say, to be the same, of persons or things. An item can be the same in the sense that it is the same of itself, which is called absolute identity (A is A), or that it is the same of something else, which is called relative identity (A is B). When we state that A is A, we mean that there is only one A considered under two different perspectives. Conversely when we state that A is B, we actually mean that A has some attributes of B. In other words relative identity can be conceptualised as the inclusion of an individual in a set, whose members share some relevant attributes and are thus the same under that specific account.