The Importance Of Individuality

To begin with, this topic is not at all what it looks like. The question being asked here may appear to be of the form that whether humans survive best by themselves, i.e. individually; or as part of a group, i.e. socially. Any normal human being in possession of a moderate intelligence can answer that without second thoughts: Humans survive best by being part of a group. But is that actually the question worth asking and arguing here? Unless I am contending with a highly dysfunctional sociopath/psychopath who is hell bent on destroying most of the humanity, I do not think I should be talking and discussing and explaining a common sense ‘universal truth’ here. The question that I want to ask or the question that should be asked is: “What measure of balance should there be between our individuality and sociality/social participation?”

There is no question about a human being’s inability to survive solitude. In our centers for incarceration (Prisons), solitary confinement is one of the worst punishments.

Humans are essentially social animals. They need physical and emotional contact with other humans to survive. Especially, newborns cannot do without human physical contact and may even die without it. “Lack of physical contact can prevent normal development and can even lead to higher rates of illness or death in infants.” Moreover, in times of crises and disaster, families and communities stick together, helping each other out, and hence, ensure a better survival rate. Societal support is essential for the realization of most of our individual potentials. One example of ‘nature vs. nurture’, where many experts have deemed lack of social skills very detrimental, is of Chris Langan. In Chris Langan we find the case of a...

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... tradition and backwardness and narrow-mindedness – and how majority through enculturation can socially condition beliefs and endanger a person’s safety much less their individuality. As Ayn Rand has beautifully put,

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 (and the smallest minority on earth is the individual).

In the end, it is very evident that in most cases, giftedness/talent/individuality and normalcy/social-conformity are highly incompatible. Social institutions resist change and radicalism. But sometimes, the change is more beneficial than the harm done by the dissolution/remodeling of the institutions. And therein lies the equation defining the balance between individuality and sociality.