An individual is one that exists as a distinct entity. Individuality (or self-hood) is the state or quality of living as an individual; particularly (in the case of humans) as a person unique from other people and possessing one's own needs or goals, rights and responsibilities. The concept of an individual features in many fields, including biology, law, and philosophy. Every individual contributes significantly to the growth of a civilization. Society is a multifaceted concept that is shaped and influenced by a wide range of different things, including human behaviors, attitudes, and ideas. The culture, morals, and beliefs of others as well as the general direction and trajectory of the society can all be influenced and shaped by an individual's activities.
Etymology
From the 15th century and earlier (and also today within the fields of statistics and metaphysics) individual meant "indivisible", typically describing any numerically singular thing, but sometimes meaning "a person". From the 17th century on, an individual has indicated separateness, as in individualism.
Biology
In biology, the question of the individual is related to the definition of an organism, which is an important question in biology and the philosophy of biology, despite there having been little work devoted explicitly to this question. An individual organism is not the only kind of individual that is considered as a "unit of selection".Genes, genomes, or groups may function as individual units.
Asexual reproduction occurs in some colonial organisms so that the individuals are genetically identical. Such a colony is called a genet, and an individual in such a population is referred to as a ramet. The colony, rather than the individual, functions as a unit of selection. In other colonial organisms, individuals may be closely related to one another but may differ as a result of sexual reproduction.
Law
Although individuality and individualism are commonly considered to mature with age/time and experience/wealth, a sane adult human being is usually considered by the state as an "individual person" in law, even if the person denies individual culpability ("I followed instructions").
An individual person is accountable for their actions/decisions/instructions, subject to prosecution in both national and international law, from the time that they have reached the age of majority, often though not always more or less coinciding with the granting of voting rights, responsibility for paying tax, military duties, and the individual right to bear arms (protected only under certain constitutions).
Philosophy
Buddhism
In Buddhism, the concept of the individual lies in anatman, or "no-self." According to anatman, the individual is really a series of interconnected processes that, working together, give the appearance of being a single, separated whole. In this way, anatman, together with anicca, resembles a kind of bundle theory. Instead of an atomic, indivisible self distinct from reality, the individual in Buddhism is understood as an interrelated part of an ever-changing, impermanent universe (see Interdependence, Nondualism, Reciprocity).
Empiricism
Empiricists such as Ibn Tufail in early 12th century Islamic Spain and John Locke in late 17th century England viewed the individual as a tabula rasa ("blank slate"), shaped from birth by experience and education. This ties into the idea of the liberty and rights of the individual, society as a social contract between rational individuals, and the beginnings of individualism as a doctrine.
Hegel
Georg Wilhelm Friedrich Hegel regarded history as the gradual evolution of the Mind as it tests its own concepts against the external world. Each time the mind applies its concepts to the world, the concept is revealed to be only partly true, within a certain context; thus the mind continually revises these incomplete concepts so as to reflect a fuller reality (commonly known as the process of thesis, antithesis, and synthesis). The individual comes to rise above their own particular viewpoint, and grasps that they are a part of a greater whole insofar as they are bound to family, a social context, and/or a political order.
Existentialism
With the rise of existentialism, Søren Kierkegaard rejected Hegel's notion of the individual as subordinated to the forces of history. Instead, he elevated the individual's subjectivity and capacity to choose their own fate. Later Existentialists built upon this notion. Friedrich Nietzsche, for example, examines the individual's need to define his/her own self and circumstances in his concept of the will to power and the heroic ideal of the Übermensch. The individual is also central to Sartre's philosophy, which emphasizes individual authenticity, responsibility, and free will. In both Sartre and Nietzsche (and in Nikolai Berdyaev), the individual is called upon to create their own values, rather than rely on external, socially imposed codes of morality.
Objectivism
Ayn Rand's Objectivism regards every human as an independent, sovereign entity that possesses an inalienable right to their own life, a right derived from their nature as a rational being. Individualism and Objectivism hold that a civilized society, or any form of association, cooperation or peaceful coexistence among humans, can be achieved only on the basis of the recognition of individual rights — and that a group, as such, has no rights other than the individual rights of its members. The principle of individual rights is the only moral base of all groups or associations. Since only an individual man or woman can possess rights, the expression "individual rights" is a redundancy (which one has to use for purposes of clarification in today's intellectual chaos), but the expression "collective rights" is a contradiction in terms. Individual rights are not subject to a public vote; a majority has no right to vote away the rights of a minority; the political function of rights is precisely to protect minorities from oppression by majorities (and the smallest minority on earth is the individual).
See also
- Action theory
- Autonomy
- Consciousness
- Cultural identity
- Identity
- Independent
- Individual time trial
- Person
- Self (philosophy)
- Self (psychology)
- Self (sociology)
- Self (spirituality)
- Structure and agency
- Will (philosophy)
References
- "Evaluate the role of an individual in the development of any society". Retrieved 8 May 2023.
- Abbs 1986, cited in Klein 2005, pp. 26–27
- Wilson, R (2007). "The biological notion of individual". Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy.
- G. A. Russell (1994), The 'Arabick' Interest of the Natural Philosophers in Seventeenth-Century England, pp. 224–62, Brill Publishers, ISBN 90-04-09459-8.
- "Georg Wilhelm Friedrich Hegel". www.goodreads.com. Retrieved 2019-11-22.
- Zovko, Jure (2018-05-12). "Hegel's concept of education from the point of view of his idea of 'second nature'". Educational Philosophy and Theory. 50 (6–7): 652–661. doi:10.1080/00131857.2017.1374842. ISSN 0013-1857. S2CID 149279317.
- Hegel, Georg Wilhelm Friedrich (19 August 2010). Georg Wilhelm Friedrich Hegel: The Science of Logic (Cambridge Hegel Translations). Translated by George Di Giovanni (Kindle ed.). Cambridge University Press. Retrieved 2019-11-22 – via www.amazon.com.
- Ayn Rand, "Individualism". Ayn Rand Lexicon.
- Ayn Rand (1961), "Individual Rights". Ayn Rand Lexicon.
Further reading
- Gracie, Jorge J. E. (1988) Individuality: An Essay on the Foundations of Metaphysics. State University of New York Press.
- Klein, Anne Carolyn (1995) Meeting the Great Bliss Queen: Buddhists, Feminists, and the Art of the Self. ISBN 0-8070-7306-7.
An individual is one that exists as a distinct entity Individuality or self hood is the state or quality of living as an individual particularly in the case of humans as a person unique from other people and possessing one s own needs or goals rights and responsibilities The concept of an individual features in many fields including biology law and philosophy Every individual contributes significantly to the growth of a civilization Society is a multifaceted concept that is shaped and influenced by a wide range of different things including human behaviors attitudes and ideas The culture morals and beliefs of others as well as the general direction and trajectory of the society can all be influenced and shaped by an individual s activities EtymologyFrom the 15th century and earlier and also today within the fields of statistics and metaphysics individual meant indivisible typically describing any numerically singular thing but sometimes meaning a person From the 17th century on an individual has indicated separateness as in individualism BiologyIn biology the question of the individual is related to the definition of an organism which is an important question in biology and the philosophy of biology despite there having been little work devoted explicitly to this question An individual organism is not the only kind of individual that is considered as a unit of selection Genes genomes or groups may function as individual units Asexual reproduction occurs in some colonial organisms so that the individuals are genetically identical Such a colony is called a genet and an individual in such a population is referred to as a ramet The colony rather than the individual functions as a unit of selection In other colonial organisms individuals may be closely related to one another but may differ as a result of sexual reproduction LawAlthough individuality and individualism are commonly considered to mature with age time and experience wealth a sane adult human being is usually considered by the state as an individual person in law even if the person denies individual culpability I followed instructions An individual person is accountable for their actions decisions instructions subject to prosecution in both national and international law from the time that they have reached the age of majority often though not always more or less coinciding with the granting of voting rights responsibility for paying tax military duties and the individual right to bear arms protected only under certain constitutions PhilosophyIndividuals may stand out from the crowd or may blend in with it Buddhism In Buddhism the concept of the individual lies in anatman or no self According to anatman the individual is really a series of interconnected processes that working together give the appearance of being a single separated whole In this way anatman together with anicca resembles a kind of bundle theory Instead of an atomic indivisible self distinct from reality the individual in Buddhism is understood as an interrelated part of an ever changing impermanent universe see Interdependence Nondualism Reciprocity Empiricism Empiricists such as Ibn Tufail in early 12th century Islamic Spain and John Locke in late 17th century England viewed the individual as a tabula rasa blank slate shaped from birth by experience and education This ties into the idea of the liberty and rights of the individual society as a social contract between rational individuals and the beginnings of individualism as a doctrine Hegel Georg Wilhelm Friedrich Hegel regarded history as the gradual evolution of the Mind as it tests its own concepts against the external world Each time the mind applies its concepts to the world the concept is revealed to be only partly true within a certain context thus the mind continually revises these incomplete concepts so as to reflect a fuller reality commonly known as the process of thesis antithesis and synthesis The individual comes to rise above their own particular viewpoint and grasps that they are a part of a greater whole insofar as they are bound to family a social context and or a political order Existentialism With the rise of existentialism Soren Kierkegaard rejected Hegel s notion of the individual as subordinated to the forces of history Instead he elevated the individual s subjectivity and capacity to choose their own fate Later Existentialists built upon this notion Friedrich Nietzsche for example examines the individual s need to define his her own self and circumstances in his concept of the will to power and the heroic ideal of the Ubermensch The individual is also central to Sartre s philosophy which emphasizes individual authenticity responsibility and free will In both Sartre and Nietzsche and in Nikolai Berdyaev the individual is called upon to create their own values rather than rely on external socially imposed codes of morality Objectivism Ayn Rand s Objectivism regards every human as an independent sovereign entity that possesses an inalienable right to their own life a right derived from their nature as a rational being Individualism and Objectivism hold that a civilized society or any form of association cooperation or peaceful coexistence among humans can be achieved only on the basis of the recognition of individual rights and that a group as such has no rights other than the individual rights of its members The principle of individual rights is the only moral base of all groups or associations Since only an individual man or woman can possess rights the expression individual rights is a redundancy which one has to use for purposes of clarification in today s intellectual chaos but the expression collective rights is a contradiction in terms Individual rights are not subject to a public vote a majority has no right to vote away the rights of a minority the political function of rights is precisely to protect minorities from oppression by majorities and the smallest minority on earth is the individual See alsoLook up individual in Wiktionary the free dictionary Action theory Autonomy Consciousness Cultural identity Identity Independent Individual time trial Person Self philosophy Self psychology Self sociology Self spirituality Structure and agency Will philosophy References Evaluate the role of an individual in the development of any society Retrieved 8 May 2023 Abbs 1986 cited in Klein 2005 pp 26 27 Wilson R 2007 The biological notion of individual Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy G A Russell 1994 The Arabick Interest of the Natural Philosophers in Seventeenth Century England pp 224 62 Brill Publishers ISBN 90 04 09459 8 Georg Wilhelm Friedrich Hegel www goodreads com Retrieved 2019 11 22 Zovko Jure 2018 05 12 Hegel s concept of education from the point of view of his idea of second nature Educational Philosophy and Theory 50 6 7 652 661 doi 10 1080 00131857 2017 1374842 ISSN 0013 1857 S2CID 149279317 Hegel Georg Wilhelm Friedrich 19 August 2010 Georg Wilhelm Friedrich Hegel The Science of Logic Cambridge Hegel Translations Translated by George Di Giovanni Kindle ed Cambridge University Press Retrieved 2019 11 22 via www amazon com Ayn Rand Individualism Ayn Rand Lexicon Ayn Rand 1961 Individual Rights Ayn Rand Lexicon Further readingGracie Jorge J E 1988 Individuality An Essay on the Foundations of Metaphysics State University of New York Press Klein Anne Carolyn 1995 Meeting the Great Bliss Queen Buddhists Feminists and the Art of the Self ISBN 0 8070 7306 7
