A brief history of individualism

 Individualism, is based on the idea that people should be free to think and act for themselves rather than conforming / adhering to group norms & societal expectations. It may seem straightforward, but throughout history, there’s been different interpretations, understanding, and applications of individualism.

Individualism itself never really had a defined start, but a more commonly argued-upon inception for individualism was around 5th century BCE ancient Greece. Philosophers like Socrates and Aristotle emphasized personal virtue and rational thought. It was a major laying ground from more modern feminist movement later on. Socrates was known for how he challenged societal norms, and urging individuals to “know thyself.” Aristotle, while more community-oriented, also argued the importance of personal virtue (witch means to living wisely and ethically by choosing what’s right through reason and self-awareness).

If you go roughly 20,000 years later, during the Renaissance, the concept of classical humanism was first introduced. Humanism is the concept of revolves around a way of thinking that put people ‘front and center’. Instead of following societal norms and relying on more traditional religious teachings, humanists turned to Ancient Greece to explore ideas about the world and themselves, and created to ideas on ethics, politics, and art. People in that time period believed that studying subjects like literature, history, and philosophy could help people become more wiser & more thoughtful. Many creators during that time phrase used humanism as inspiration, such as artists like Leonardo da Vinci and writers such as Petrarch, focused on personal achievement and expression. Also during that time phrame, the printing press (mid-15th century) democratized knowledge, allowing individuals to access information and to form their own ideas.

Later on, during the Enlightenment period between the 17th / 18th century, individualism became more defined in politics as well as philosophy. Thinkers during that time phrame like John Locke argued that people are born with natural rights (life, liberty, and property), and also that governments exist to protect those rights, not control them. His ideas & philosophy laid the groundwork for liberal democracy and was the inspiration of a lot of major revolutions throughout history, including in America and France. Around the same time, Denis Diderot wrote ‘Encyclopédie,’ which was the world’s first modern encyclopedia. It was created to gather all human knowledge in 1 book and promote rational thinking, and it was used to encourage people to question, reason, and think for themselves.

In the 1920s, individualism was all about chasing your own version of success — money, status, freedom — whatever that looked like. People were breaking away from old-school rules and trying to live life on their own terms. In The Great Gatsby, characters like Daisy and Tom do whatever they want without much concern for others (seen very apparently by how the people act during the party in chapter 3). The book also shows how that kind of self-focused life can bring a lot of trouble and immorality with it.

Know, Modern individualism builds on a lot of things that came before it, such as Greek philosophy, Renaissance humanism, Enlightenment rights, and even the 1920s-style reinvention. Today, just like in the past, individualism also raises questions about what it really means to be free.