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RESEARCH PRODUCT

Negotiation of Identities and Negotiation of Values in Multicultural Societies

subject

description

This chapter addresses the notions of identity negotiation and value negotiation from a philosophical perspective. The relationship between personal or collective identity and core values is here analyzed. Identity is described as constituted by a set of core values. Yet, while identity is—by definition—particular, core values intend to be universal although they are practiced in particular cultural contexts and are susceptible of different interpretations and applications. The author claims that whether negotiation is meant in contractual terms, it is an adequate tool only to manage interests but not identitarian values. However, if negotiation is meant as a process of gradual adaptation that took place during the migration process, it can be understood as a process that takes place in the new vital contexts in the succession of generations and gives birth to forms of cultural hybridism. Cultural hybridism can, in turn, produce forms of disorientation and existential uprooting or instead generate new cultural identities. The author finally poses the issue of negotiation as a practical necessity imposed by the need for cohabitation in the multicultural societies.