Reflection Of Individualism

What is American Individualism? Who represents American Individualism? American Individualism is about being self-reliant. An individual who does not depend on others to take care of them. Examples of American Individualists are Thoreau, Emerson, and poems of Emily Dickinson. They all define American Individualism and the American Identity. American Individualism is the freedom a person has to define themselves and not by what society deems them as.

Individualism is all about having your own ideas and respecting that others have their own ideas as well. It is important that an individual’s ideas are not based on selfishness and self-interest, or this can be considered a

Individualism: Individualism is the term that refers to the ways in which people identify themselves and focus their goals. Individualism gives priority to personal goals as opposed to the goals of a group or society. Once the men have stepped off the bus on Parris Island they give up every aspect of individualism, they are stripped of all valuables and given the same clothes and haircut which they will wear for the remainder of time. American cultures which are seen almost daily are the ability to voice your own opinion, choosing your personal perspective, and even just the choices you choose to make. Individualism is something that can differ between cultures, but most cultures share certain qualities.

Individualism is the idea that a person’s life belongs to them and that they have an absolute right to live it as they sees fit. The people of modern society have the right to pursue the values of their choosing. As an individual we have our own opinions, this gives us the freedom to expand our life in ways we couldn’t

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

Individualism-> when you value the freedom and worth of the individual, sometimes over the security and harmony of the group or a belief in the importance of the individual and the virtue of self-reliance and personal independence

Individualism is the current of thinking that values the freedom and worth of the individual. The source from Adam Smith, states that individualism benefits humankind. The perspective of the source accepts and favours individualism but rejects collectivism because it calls for individualism as being a way for individuals to promote their self interests and to achieve an efficient economy. That a nation of individuals should not seek to make every one responsible for each other; but that individuals are only responsible for themselves. Supporters of individualism, like Adam Smith, see economic freedom as leading to the most efficient and beneficial economy for the greatest number of people, because it encourages competition and they assume

Individualism is the idea that the individual's life belongs to him and that he has an inalienable

Individualism is a habit of being self- reliant. A cultural value is a persons desired and preferred way of acting. Every culture has their own cultural values and individualism but whether individualism is their cultural value is up to the person entirely. This could pose a conflict when persuading the wrong culture especially a culture as diverse as the American culture. Poranee Sponsel is a born and raised Thai who is now a professor at a university in Hawaii and gives us the outsider’s perspective of the American culture. In Sponsel’s article “The Young, the Rich, and the Famous: Individualism as an American Cultural value” Sponsel

Eric Mack’s essay “In Defense of Individualism” provides a basic outlook of individualistic personalities and interactions that are prevalent throughout society. Mack gives definitions of different theories in individualism, breaking the encompassing thought

Looking at the chart the first dimension of culture plotted is individualism-collectivism. This dimension addresses how people define themselves and their relationships with others. Cultures that fall on the individualism side of the continuum share four characteristics. First, such cultures consider the individual to be the most important entity in any social setting. Second, individualistic cultures stress independence rather than dependence. Third, individualistic cultures reward individual achievement. The last characteristic is; individualistic cultures value each individual’s uniqueness.

“Egoism is the normative idea that each person ought to pursue his or her own self-interest exclusively” (Rachels 77). In other words, what makes one’s actions moral is if they are acting in their own self-interest only. It is the radical view that states that one’s only duty is to promote one’s own self-interest. This theory does not suggest that one should act in their own interest as well as others best interest, but, according to Rachels, there is only one principle to follow and that

Many believe that people who think about themselves are self-centered and do not care about the people around them. That is where their wrong. Individualism is not just about one certain person; it is about the whole world. Stated by President Woodrow Wilson, “America is not anything if it consists of each of us. It is something only if it consists of all of us.” (Wilson). This proclamation overall shows how everyone is their own individual self but as a nation we all stand together. People are individuals.

1) An individualist is considered to be someone with personality and character, someone who is not easily intimidated by social pressure or customs, someone with a personal opinion and a singular view of the world. Because modern society finds it important that people think independently, decide autonomously and take personal initiatives, the concept of individualism has acquired a positive connotation. However, individualism is also linked with the tendency to withdraw from social life and turn in towards oneself.

Individualistic cultures tend to favor feeling free and less responsible for the members around them. In class, we discussed our own experiences of living in an individualistic culture. For example, if a parent were to become ill and more dependent, it is not uncommon for the children to send the parent to a nursing home. The ill parent would feel embarrassed if their child had to help them use a restroom or bathe themselves.Whereas, in a collectivism