The Theory of Interpretive Context poses two primary means, in which the world is interpreted. Interpretation means the selection and assignment of association from the memory, that gives any present sensation or thought context, as identification, definition, history or ramifications. In the first instance this selection is made automatically, followed by the by that entity that thinks or the thinker. If a person sees a dog, association is selected from the memory, as the kind of dog they are seeing, like bulldog or Collie. If the incorrect association is selected, they would be wrong.

The two primary interpretations are what is defined as the the Ego and Identities. The Ego is interpretation through the context of the one single body as given. The Identities are interpretation through context created by the mind or Thinker, that creates any number of personas usually as skill based objectives, like butcher baker or candlestick maker.

The Ego is interpretation of any present sensation or thinking from the point of view of the body, or as a particular and individual sensory system. This means for the the interpretation of an orange, based on whether one's taste, or bodily sensory system likes or dislikes oranges. For one the associational selection for 'do you want an orange' will be 'yes', and for another it is a negative association, or 'no thanks'.

Identities are defined as the interpretation of reality through the contexts of particular objectives, as something other than the natural Ego. By the Ego one might say, 'I like steak'. By the Identity of a gourmet, where the objective is to eat only the best foods, one might say 'I like Filet Mignon with wild mushroom sauce'. Or as a further instance, the Identity of a macho meat eater may disdain the eating of an orange even though it is agreeable to the body or Ego.

In the understanding of the self, it might be convenient to understand the exact nature and relationship of the Ego and Identities, independent of each other, so as to understand the true underlying reasons and purposes of one's thinking, acting and behaviors.

The pure Ego absent Identities represents the commonality of the body and human sensory system for all people, which if not identical is fairly similar for everyone, such as the need for air, water and food, and the commonality of pain, sensations and emotion. There is one body and thus one Interpretive Context as the Ego.

The Ego represents commonality of experience and thus a commonality and similarity of interpretive associations. Thus if two people speak of thunder and lightening, they each will evoke similar associations of thunderstorms. Thus most people should be able to relate to others on the Ego level, as what the body universally experiences. Various Egos have more in common than dissimilarity. Everyone eats in some way and somehow. Differences come with the creation of Identities, that are alternatives to the Ego, like the Identity of the risk-taking stuntman.

Identities are created in the mind by the Thinker, as alternatives to the Ego. An example of a pure Identity might be like the would-be religious seekers, that attempts to emulate attributes of ultra-human perfection, such as celibacy, self-denial, fasting, thought control or various ascetic practices, in opposition to the natural body, as is often the case with religious ideals.

Any number of Identities can be created and are usually based on objectives, such as driving, playing sports, profession, hobbies, action-activities, or intellectual pursuits and achievements, such as one who drives to work, or plays sports on the weekends. Identities can be based on being rich, on sexual preference, moral, religious, racial or national Identities. Identities can be completely dissimilar from others, such as the dentist from the artist, and the creation of dissimilar Identities is the origin of most human conflict.

The human body is a product of the natural world and as such is Conservative. Conservative is defined here as the condition of nature, where all natural non-human change, leaves transformed states conducive to the restoration of the original condition. Every forest fire creates change which leaves a condition of renewal of the original forest.

The body is Conservative because its primary function is to preserve itself in like or near like form. Thus for the healthy body, the object is to preserve that health in like form, and not to become unhealthy. The body wants to be comfortable and to have its needs satisfied.

The body is Conservative because its primary function is to preserve itself in like or near like form. Thus for the healthy body, the object is to preserve that health in like form, to avoid accidents and unsafe circumstance, and to avoid becoming unhealthy or injured. The body wants to be comfortable and to have its needs satisfied.

Every person has needs and wants. Need is the province of the Ego, and want is the province of the Identities. Need is Conservative limited to what in necessary to maintain a same or similar condition. The individual wants warmth, comfort, affection, love and all the basic needs of the body. Thus the Ego as the Interpretive Context of the body, and as a Conservative entity, means that one interprets one's general reality more to one's needs as opposed to one's wants.

The Interpretive Context of the Ego is those associations that most affect the body in immediate circumstance. One interprets the rose bush as its affect one's senses, the thorns, allergies, or if one just loves the smell. Interpretive associations may involve what one likes to eat, how to sleep, dangerous situations, the affects of weather or one's liking for the opposite sex. One may interpret another's car by its comfort, rather than its looks or speed.

It could be said that based on the Interpretive Context of the Ego, that everyone knows and should be able communicate with everyone else, in the sense that everyone shares a similar sensory system and commonalities of experience. It could also be said that the facility of empathy derives the associational affinities of the Ego interpretation, as opposed to the necessity for the creation of an empathetic Identity, as particularly many religious doctrines would have us believe.

Because the Thinker creates Identities, they may be Conservative or Progressive. Any number of Conservative Identities are possible for individuals as one drives, eats and entertains conservatively. Some of these Identities might be like mother or dad, man or woman, fat or skinny, rich or poor as born, family circumstance or sad sack.

A Progressive Identity means the creation of Identities based on wants and objectives, over and above the Conservative state of the Ego. Progressive Identities are such as singer, sportsman, occupations, traveler, teacher, scientist, weather forecaster, any any of hundreds of various specialist fields.

Children take on Identities as abstract identification via means of all manor of magical thinking, and play acting. A more serious Identity creation often begins in middle school junior high, when kids begin acting, speaking and dressing parts.

Identities are created by training, education, experience, practice, adopting rules, mores, regulations, procedures, codes, methods, regimens, techniques, principles, standards and regulations, and identification with role models that define what is necessary to the accomplishment of wants, desires, objectives and goals.

Children take on Identities as abstract identification via means of all manor of magical thinking, and play acting. A more serious Identity creation often begins in middle school-junior high, when kids begin acting, speaking and dressing parts. A more serious Identity creating process begins when people have to enter the workaday world. When Identities are created there must be the adoption of the criterion for the development such Identities as training, education, experience, practice, adopting rules, mores, regulations, procedures, codes, methods, regimens, techniques, principles, standards and regulations, and identification with role models, that define what is necessary to the accomplishment of wants, desires, objectives and goals. Some do not want to get stuck into a single Identity and will adopt more cosmopolitan Identities such as musician, artist, handyman, drifter or slacker.

Identities are often created in opposition to negative self-perceptions. This means one may create Identities to compensate for what one believes they lack, called low self-esteem, which may arise from authority figures imposing Progressive Identities upon one's Conservative Ego. 'You should be more like your straight-A brother', or if you're going to be successful you got to be more aggressive. This will often lead to Identities in conflict with the Ego.

The Conservative Ego and Progressive Identities may or may not be inconflict, but are often antagonistic to each other. The Identity of party animal may not be conducive to one's need for sleep, proper diet, relaxation, quiet and domestic relationships. Since the Ego is essentially Conservative, a best balanced and healthy Identity might also be Conservative, like modest, unambitious simple living.

However much of modern culture is Progressive and thus Identity based, with America probably the most Identity based of all. One reason for this is that America is perhaps the most capitalistic of societies and thus most profit oriented. Products are mostly sold to appeal to Identities. Products are sold as continuously new and improved or progressed, and thus individuals are encouraged to adopt progressive Identities that correspond and would own such products. And Identities as star power are used constantly to shill products.

Inherent to the Progressive Identity based system is 'Dyadic Evaluation', a term used here to describe an archetypal Progressive index for evaluation, based on a scale of primitive to progressed, or from caveman to Monarch. The Ego representing the natural body would be at the bottom and the most progressed Identities at the top.

In Progressive societies the Conservative Ego is considered to be primitive, lazy, unambitious, animal in nature, possessed of original-sin, and it is assumed that the individual must make a conversion to a higher order, which is in reality the adoption of Progressive Identities. In fact the Interpretive Context depicted here as Ego based, is more or less frowned upon by progressive cultures and especially religions. The very essence of religion is to transcend one's natural self and adopt superior unnatural perfected progressed Identities.

Those cultures that most strongly promote unnatural superior religious and secular Identity ideals, are usually called patriarchal. Women are more Ego based than men and thus conservative, especially since they are usually the primary household principles promoting care and stability.

Since women in general may not so much be interested in adopting every kind of Progressive Identity, especially since they are usually children's primary care givers, which may be incompatible with ultra-human ideals of perfection and purity, there will in these cases always exist discrimination against women.

Most human conflict comes from the clash of Identities. Ego based conflict generally arises out of real circumstance involving personal friction, frustration, anger, personal animosity and disagreements. On the other hand Identity based conflict may have animosity and conflict built into the very definition of itself. Any Identity that defines other Identities as inferior or evil for instance will encourage conflict. These are Identity stereotypes discounting the Ego. Some of these may be racial, religious, criminal, political or ideological Identities.

Finally it might be said that finding one's true self might actually be the process of shedding one's Identities and finding one's Ego, as the true nature of the body and self.