Philosophy
Aggrieved Identities
A rich literature in philosophy and psychology argues that people operate with identity-constituting narratives. These narratives enable us to make sense of our lives, experiences, and values. My project explores the way in which certain identity-constituting narratives generate aggrieved identities. An identity is aggrieved when it makes essential and continuing reference to grievances (real or imagined) perpetrated by some out-group, and defines the self in terms of opposition to this out-group. I explain how aggrieved identities emerge from an emotional state called ressentiment. I draw on philosophical and psychological work on narrative identity; philosophical work on resentment, ressentiment, and similar emotions; and sociological studies of individuals and groups that define themselves in terms of grievances. This work will culminate in a book, provisionally entitled Aggrieved Identities, which argues that aggrieved identities are among the chief sources of the social rifts and fractures that are endemic in our time.