Burke explains identification as a process that is fundamental to being human and to communicating. We are aware of this biological separation, and we recognize additional types of separation based on social class or position.
Identification is compensatory to division.
To overcome our division and our guilt, we look for ways in which our interests, attitudes, values, experiences, perceptions, and material properties are shared with others, or could appear to be shared. As Burke sees it, the human need to identify provides a rich resource for those interested in joining us or, more importantly, persuading us. A key part of Burke's mission in writing is that we understand the processes by which we build social cohesion through our use of language. Thus, Burke sees in processes such as identification, the working out of the daily mundane processes of social life, as well as the larger, significant choices that may lead to our corporate destruction or salvation. Burke's concept of identification needs to be seen within the context of his understanding of language as symbolic action.