Friend, caregiver, student, sister, politician, nurse, etc., are all examples of titles that come with responsibilities for an individual. However, one is not just defined by these roles. There are no limits to what a human being can do. Humans are powerful and unique individuals. George Kateb celebrates this individualism by emphasizing his theoretical definition in his text, “Democratic Individualism and its critics.” Kateb suggests that individualism supports the viewpoint that individuals matter aside from their roles, works, and functions. Additionally, he advocates that human beings have identities that are indefinable because they are creatures filled with uniqueness. Because I believe that people are not ultimately defined by their roles in society, I agree with George Kateb’s definition and view of individualism.
Human beings are dynamic and distinctive individuals. Apart from the fact that each person is unique based upon appearances, they also have different cultural backgrounds. Individuals are capable of various great acts that are beyond imagination. For instance, to be curious and adventurous are embedded characteristics that denote individualism that humans are capable of. Human beings are distinctive species that roam the earth with creative thinking abilities, which is evident in today’s advanced civilization. Humans have made such great change in the world just by existing. An example of change that has occurred in various societies is technological advancement. After all, people have the ability to take on several tasks without limit. Kateb asserts that, “Whatever the performance or behavior of a person, or the outward expression in work or everyday life, the person’s uniqueness (or individuation) remains; it...
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...e essence of Kateb’s statement is that the role reversal that people take part in is incorporated in relationships daily. For example, an individual can change their current role and play the role of their significant other or someone else. This can help that individual learn and understand another perspective, which develops an objective view of the individual’s interpersonal relationships. Switching roles is a communicative factor that leads to the success of understanding between individuals. For example, based my past observations, role reversal is prominent in successful marriages.
Consequently, no individual can be exhaustively defined by an act or role. People have undefined identities that no fixed value can be placed on. Each person is filled with uniqueness that is incomprehensible because there are no limits to an individual’s ability.
Identity is a group of characteristics, data or information that belongs exactly to one person or a group of people and that make it possible to establish differences between them. The consciousness that people have about themselves is part of their identity as well as what makes them unique. According to psychologists, identity is a consistent definition of one’s self as a unique individual, in terms of role, attitudes, beliefs and aspirations. Identity tries to define who people are, what they are, where they go or what they want to be or to do. Identity could depend on self-knowledge, self-esteem, or the ability of individuals to achieve their goals. Through self-analysis people can define who they are and who the people around them are. The most interesting point about identity is that some people know what they want and who they are, while it takes forever for others to figure out the factors mentioned before. Many of the individuals analyzed in this essay are confused about the different possible roles or positions they can adopt, and that’s exactly the reason they look for some professional help.
...clusion, Caitlin Tom’s essay Individuality vs. Fitting in, the American novel Little Women by Louisa Alcott, and the romantic yet empowering dramatic film Jane Eyre all exemplify the importance of a society pertaining individualism as it leads to overcoming societal barriers and stereotypes through recognition, it encourages individuals to bring about change through their unique individualism, and aids them in valuing the invoked change in relation to their individualist characteristics and traits. It is evident that individualism is very crucial for a society willing to maintain its civilization successfully. Thus, individualistic traits are the fuel which drive a society to its development and initiation through evolution. As a reminder, Individuals should use their unique individualistic traits and characteristics in order to help improve society as a whole.
"Is a person, One who can consciously perform personal acts? If so, people who are asleep are not people and we may kill them. One with a present capacity to perform personal acts? If so, that would include sleepers but not those in a coma. One with a history of performing personal acts? That would mean that a 17-year old who was born in a coma 17 years ago and is just now coming out of it is not a person. Also, by this definition, there can be no first personal act, no personal acts without a history of past personal acts. One with a future capacity for performing personal acts? That would mean that dying persons are not
Andre, Claire, and Manuel Velasquez. "American Society and Individualism." American Society and Individualism. Markkula Center for Applied Ethics, 2010. Web. 15 Dec. 2013.
In his 1971 paper “Personal Identity”, Derek Parfit posits that it is possible and indeed desirable to free important questions from presuppositions about personal identity without losing all that matters. In working out how to do so, Parfit comes to the conclusion that “the question about identity has no importance” (Parfit, 1971, p. 4.2:3). In this essay, I will attempt to show that Parfit’s thesis is a valid one, with positive implications for human behaviour. The first section of the essay will examine the thesis in further detail and the second will assess how Parfit’s claims fare in the face of criticism.
Individualism is the only alternative to the racism of political correctness. We must recognize that everyone is a sovereign entity, with the power of choice and independent judgment. The values of self-esteem and Western civilization should be proudly proclaimed.
It is easy to see how the defining of what a person is can be a tedious endeavor. As stated earlier, it is a common perception that in order to be a person one must be a human being. Midgley states, “It is my main business here to point out that this attitude is to crude” (Stephens ed. 316). Midgley brings up that man...
“A human being’s sense of self is established in the context of their ethics and morals. The concept of identity is related to ‘who I am’. Individuals situate themselves in a contextual environment that may include their relationships with family and friends, and their abilities and the occupations in which they are, or have been. This identifies what is ultimately important to an individual and how that relates to where their identity is in relation to this.” (Thomas, 2013)
Individualism in today’s society is the “belief that each person is unique, special, and a ‘basic unit of nature’.” The individualism concept puts an “emphasis on individual initiative” where people act independently of others and use self-motivation to prosper. The individualists “value privacy” over community the individual thrives to move ahead in life (U S Values).
The notion of individualism is extremely important in exercising the duty people have to cease from the...
Many philosophers and psychologist from Jean Piaget to William James have theorized what makes a person who they are, their identity. Jean Piaget believed that the identity is formed in the sensorimotor stage and the preoperational stage. This means that a child is forming his identity as late to the age of seven (Schellenberg, 29) However, identity is strongly impacted by society such as school, church, government,and other institutions. Through our interactions with different situations our personality develops (Schellenberg 34). "In most situations there is a more diversified opportunity for the development of social identities, reflecting what the individual wants to put forth to define the self as well as what others want to accept,"(Schellenberg 35). Therefore, humans, much like animals, adapt to different situations based on who they are with. Individuals are always changi...
The quality of uniqueness and the singularity of each human being is a fundamental characteristic of humanity. In describing uniqueness, Heschel explains how man occupies a unique position of being both a natural and a human being. Though as a natural being, man is “determined by natural laws”, he, as a human, has the freedom of choice and the ability to make decisions (37). Ultimately influenced by decision-making, the course of a man’s life is subject to change and cannot be predicted. Human existence is comprised of an unlimited number of events that cannot be replicated, making it inherently unique (37). While people may come from similar circumstances, each man is an original. Every man has a distinct face and name, beliefs and experienced events that are completely singular. Uniqueness is the most constitutive trait of human existence as it reflects the fundamental nature of humanity -- that no two people are the same and that no two people will be shaped by experiences in the same way. All other attributes of humanity flow
...can go through an entire lifetime and not really know how to define their own identity. In many cases people suffer through a great crisis to discover who they really are. If someone doesn?t know the meaning of their own identity, how can society apply a definition to the word? It leaves people to ponder whether or not there are some feelings and parts of life that simply cannot be explained. When defining the word identity scholars and common men alike must agree to disagree. It is a word so diverse in context that it is seemingly impossible to take it down to a simplified definition. There are some things in life that just aren?t meant to be completely understood, and one?s identity is among these things. Not until a person has a lived out their live could they sit down and tell you how their adventure has shaped them into the person they became in the end.
Our intelligence, therefore, is our singular, collective ability to act and react in an everchanging world (1)
If you were to look at what makes us human from a purely physical perspective you would be looking at everything that was empirical about a human being. This category could be divided into two sections: the first would be the actual appearance of human beings and the second would be the genetic make-up. Basically it would be made up of what you can see at first glance and what you could see at an even closer glance. The physical perspective can be summarised as the things one can see about human beings. Some appearance traits that make us human are quite obvious; nimble hands, soft skin and bipedal. Others are not quite so obvious from first glance such as a large brain (Cartmill & Brown, 2012). If we were to list every single thing that made us look human it would take quite some time. This is the most obvious thing that makes us human, the way we look.