The Evolved Meaning of Individuality
The word “individual” holds an important place in today’s society. If asked the meaning of the word “individual,” a randomly chosen person would confidently reply, “ an individual is one person.” Compared to the modern definition, the person would be correct. According to the most recent meaning of “individual”, as defined in the Oxford English Dictionary , is “of, pertaining or peculiar to, a single person or thing, or some one member of a class” ( OED individual 5a). If the same question were asked in the seventeenth century, a different answer would be given. In fact, the word “individual” was rarely used. Instead, the word “individuality” or “individualism” was often heard in the seventeenth century in reference to politics or religion. The seventeenth century definition of “individuality” is “the state or quality of being indivisible or inseparable.” Obviously, these two meanings differ. By exploring the political and theological meaning in the seventeenth century and comparing it to the latest meaning, centered on biology and society, we will use history to help us analyze the conflicts between the new meaning and the old meaning of individuality.
The history of the word “individual” is thoroughly explained in Raymond Williams’ Keywords: A Vocabulary of Culture and Society . When returning to Cambridge University , after being absent for four and a half years in the war, Williams observed the people around him and noticed that a new language had evolved. This new language inspired Williams to try to discover why words were used more often around him after he returned from the war than they were before he left. The year 1945 marked a starting point for him to write ...
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... now mentioned in biology and logic. The definition has been a positive addition to society.
Works Cited
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Williams, Raymond. Keywords: A Vocabulary of Culture and Society . New York : Oxford University Press, 1976.
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Individualism from the transcendentalist era is very different then it is in the modern day. In the transcendentalist era, everyone believed that the person is more important than the society. You see this in self reliance where Emerson says “Trust thyself: every heart vibrates to that iron string. Accept the place the divine providence has found for you, the society of your contemporaries, the connection of events” (Emerson par. 3). In this quote, i believe the emerson is saying that you know what's best for yourself and you should follow your heart, but society is always going to try to tell you something different. In the modern day, people rely more on the
Andre, Claire, and Manuel Velasquez. "American Society and Individualism." American Society and Individualism. Markkula Center for Applied Ethics, 2010. Web. 15 Dec. 2013.
In the unit “The Spirit of Individualism” there are two parts, “Celebrations of the self” and “The Dark side of Individualism” with pieces that present very different perspectives on human nature. “The Dark side of Individualism” portrays human nature as greedy, confused, easily caught up in fame, and addicted to wealth and possessions. In “Celebrations of the Self”, human nature is viewed in a more positive light. The characteristics shown are self reliance, independence, wisdom and selflessness. “The Dark side of Individualism” pieces are written in a more macabre tone, whereas “Celebrations of the Self” pieces have a more positive and uplifting tone to them. The generalizations of human nature are different because of the pieces in “The Dark side of Individualism” and “Celebrations of the Self” have entirely different views on life and human nature.
Office of Communications and Public Liaison. (2013, November 6). NIH. Retrieved from National Institute of Neurological Disorder and Stroke: http://www.ninds.nih.gov/disorders/autism/detail_autism.htm#243513082
The idea of Individualism can be traced all the way back to England before America’s existence. As we know, individualism has been interpreted in many forms throughout history. The 19th century is no different, taking hold of its own idea of individualism, called transcendentalism. Transcendentalism suggests freedom should not be confined to those focused on money and superficial gains. Instead, people should depend on no one but themselves. This movement focused on “greater individualism against conformity” (Corbett et al.). Heavily influenced by the Romantic period, transcendentalism adopted the belief that reason was more important than logic as Benjamin Franklin has believed. Reason must also include unique emotion and spirit (Corbett et
I never even thought about this word “individualism” before I came to America. Instead of collective, normal is the way I considered as my culture, and for American culture, I would say they are selfish and unkindly sometimes back then. However, after my 2-year study here and all the research I’ve been read for this paper, now I say that neither individualism nor collectivism is purely bad or good.
The idea of individualism can seem rather abstract in our society today. People get preoccupied with how they believe others perceive them, which is in stark contrast to the idea of individualism. Take, for instance, peer pressure, which can affect not only younger children and teens but also adults. All members of a structured society will at some point be impacted by the pressures of society to be normal, and to reach the same milestones as their peers. In Edward Albee’s play, Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf? the reader gets shown firsthand how the desire to conform, and to be normal, can drive our actions as well as our behavior.
The simplest of task have been made simpler, yet not only is this the future but it’s the now. Radio Frequency identification technology is technology that was created from Identification friend or foe or other wise known as (IFF). This later brought to life RFID, (Radio-Frequency Identification). The purpose of RFID varies has multiple purpose and multiple looks, but the results are all the same. There are multiple looks and shapes to these tags, some come in stickers, plastic, and even chips that would be implanted. Originally During World War 2 a British engineer Watson-Watt, developed the first active identify friend or foe (IFF). The purpose was to identify aircrafts that where returning to base. According to rfidjournal.com, IFF either reflects back a signal or broadcasts a signal. Thus creating RFID the modern tracker. The sizes of the transmitters varied from plane to plane, but ground troops had special readers that allowed them to identify the aircrafts. The implications of these modern methods of tracking later led to develop RFID tags. During the 50’s and 60’s the worlds scientist begun to research how advancements in radio frequency could be harnessed, it became emanate that this advancement would be used to track packages for consumers world wide. The first patents for RFID was America Mario W. Cardullo, he claims to have the first United States patent for an RFID tag with rewritable memory during 1973. That same year, a man named Charles Walton, received a patent for a RFID tag to unlock a door without a key. The RFID tag had an embedded transponder, which communicated a signal to a reader near the door. When the reader picked up a valid identity, the reader unlocked the door. Ultimately this advancement is soon t...
Pearsall J (1999) The Concise Oxford Dictionary Tenth Edition page 286 by Oxford University Press in Oxford New York, America
The chief entities of individualism come in regards to man, every man. The element of this philosophy is a, “Sovereign entity who possesses an inalienable right to his own life, a right derived from his nature as a rational being. Individualism holds that a civilized society, or any form of association, cooperation or peaceful coexistence among men, can be achieved only on the basis of the recognition of individual rights…” (Rand 129). This very belief ties in with the transcendentalist lifestyle as the idea of thinking for oneself without the rules set by society rises to the scale. Individuals tend to exclude the imposed rules of society, and instead, live a more naturalistic life. While adopting the transcendentalist lifestyle, Americans would only prosper, as the room for innovative thinking would have no boundaries. There would be more independency in the world, resulting in greater numbers of leaders rather then followers. Instead of following under the confines of oth...
Often the antenna is packaged with the transceiver and decoder to become a reader (a.k.a. interrogator), which can be configured either as a handheld or a fixed-mount device. The reader emits radio waves in ranges of anywhere from one inch to 100 feet or more, depending upon its power output and the radio frequency used. When an RFID tag passes through the electromagnetic zone, it detects the reader's activation signal. The reader decodes the data encoded in the tag's integrated circuit (silicon chip) and the data is passed to the host computer for processing.
The information provided in this lecture describes individualism as social patterns that involve an individual’s priority for self motivation, self confidence, self oriented, and self competent, self responsibility. Collectivism also involves social patterns, however collectivism involves individuals who are collective, which means these individual prefer to be a part of some type of group. These groups may be internal or external.