THE CONCEPT OF INDIVIDUALITY
DEFINITION: Individuality refers to the personalities, qualities, and
characteristics that distinct oneself from others in the society. Every man is
unlike other men. One man is different in certain qualities from others in the
society. The concept of individuality, therefore, can be described as the qualities that
differentiate a person from other people in the society. The qualities are both
biological and social in nature. An individual is a self – being
distinct from other “selves” in the society. First
thing that comes to mind about an individual when mentioned is individuality
(what you can think of about one person)
An individual begins to have a sense of self
from infancy. An infant gradually develops the awareness that he has a distinct
identity separate from others. During the first months of his life, the infant
possesses little or no understanding of differences between human being and
material objects in its environment and has no awareness of self. Infants begin
to use concepts like “I”,
“me” and “you”
at the age of two or beyond. Gradually, they come to understand that others
have distinct identities, consciousness and needs separate from their own.
GEORGE HERBERT MEAD AND THE CONCEPT OF SELF
George Herbert Mead (1863 – 1931),
an American philosopher, provided a clue to the concept of self in his work Mind,
Self and Society.
According to him, infants and young
children develop as social beings first of all by imitating the actions of
those around them; play is one way this takes place.
In their play, small children often
imitate what adult do. A small child will make mud pies, having seen an adult
cooking or dig with a spoon, having observed some gardening. Children’s play
evolves from simple imitation to more complicated games in which a child of
four or five will act out an adult role. He termed this “taking the role of the
others” learning what it is like to be in the shoes of another person. It is
only at this stage that children acquire a developed sense of self. Children
achieve an understanding of themselves through the eyes of others.
To Mead, we achieve self – awareness
when we learn to distinguish the “me”
from the “I”. The “I” is the un - socialized infant- a
bundle of spontaneous wants and desires. The “me” is the “social self”.
Individuals develop self – consciousness by coming to see themselves as others
see them. Children become autonomous agents, capable of self – understanding
and able to operate outside the context of the immediate families at about age
five. At age eight or nine, children tend to take part in organized games,
rather than “unsystematic” play.
At this period, children begin to
understand the overall values and morality according to which social life is
conducted. To learn organized games, one must understand the rules of play and
ideas of fairness and equal participation. At this stage, the child learns to
grasp the “generalized other” – the general value and moral rules involved in
the culture in which he is developing.
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