The Internet and the Emerging True Individual

Many think of the Internet as mere technological marvel -- a form of organization that is simply an extension of the electronic products and services that came before it; in particular, the computer and various communication devices. However, the Internet is more than that. It is an outer form and expression of our individual need to explore, discover, and achieve in life. It is a social structure that allows our individuality to ripen by connecting us the wider knowledge and wisdom of society so we can thrive and fulfill our deepest aspirations in life.

If the Internet is an indicator of new developments in the “support systems” of society, the individual himself is also undergoing a fundamental change. First of all, his life is becoming more oriented around his mind – i.e. he is becoming more mental. Because he is more educated, because he is more aware of the world around him, and because is more conscious of his ability to direct the course of his life, his mental bent is in ascendance -- i.e. it is becoming the true leader of his being. As a result, he perceives that he truly has the inner resources -- the knowledge and power -- to become anything he so chooses.

One way this inner-directed person fulfills his deepest aspiration is by making full use of the information and knowledge available to him. As it turns out, the Internet serves this function perfectly well, as it supplies an infinite supply of facts, ideas, and insights to support his ever-deepening aspiration for self-knowledge, individual expression, and greater success. Though the Internet is an outer vehicle, still it serves an inner need -- as this vast organizational system provides truths from every segment of society so that the individual can consciously choose the future direction of his life.

In addition to this mental bent that fosters a truly conscious inner-driven existence, a second contributing factor to Man’s increasing individuality is the availability of ever-greater levels of freedom in life. Unfettered by the demands of the old hierarchical order, unrestrained by old, outworn moralities and customs, the individual now feels freer than ever, even compelled to explore the vast array of possibilities available to him. This person perceives that he has full independence to become anything he puts his mind to. Once again, the Internet serves him well by providing a vast array of knowledge that he can choose from that meet his own particular needs and interests so he can reach his maximum potential. Thus, the Internet enables Man’s newly inherited freedom to mature into ever-increasing levels of fulfillment in life.

A third fundamental change the individual is going through -- one not readily perceived by society, since it is more subtle and difficult to fathom -- is that he is beginning to move out of his essential Ignorance. By that term, I am not referring to the ignorance of the poor farmer or the individual who is without education, but to an intrinsic unconsciousness that is there in every person at birth: that we inherit simply by being human. We live in what can be called the egoistic ignorance, feeling separate and cut off from the rest of the world, living for ourselves alone, when in fact our fulfillment is predicated on a positive relationship with the rest of humanity. All we possess, all we achieve is based on what we have acquired from society. The Internet offers an unparalleled means for the individual to reconnect and more fully connect with the wider humanity of which we are a part.

In addition, we tend to perceive only a small part of any issue or matter, rather than the multiplicity of factors that make up that object. Dominated by our fixed habits, our virulent attitudes, and our hardened opinions, we tend to guard what little we know of a matter, and shun the wider and deeper knowledge available to us. Holding on to our limited perceptions, we make faulty assumptions that lead to error-prone, misbegotten behaviors and actions that result in difficult, pain-filled lives. The Internet puts us in touch with an unlimited variety of viewpoints, perspectives and aspects of truth. Our emerging individual embraces the wide variety of truths, including the multiplicity of details, as well as the essence that make up the Whole of any matter or concern. The Internet, with its vast array of information and knowledge, serves Man’s purpose, as it provides a more integrated, many-sided view of things. The Internet is thus a social power that forces us out of our false, limited view, and gives us the opportunity to embrace a fuller, more balanced, and integral knowledge. It moves us out of our limited subjectivity and brings us to deeper and wider objectivity rooted in truth. From that vantage point, we have the necessary insight and wisdom to redirect the course of our lives so that we can fulfill our fondest hopes and dreams.

As we look out at the arc of our human existence, of the progress we have made over the millennia, and, in particular, the rapid changes in human consciousness that are occurring today, it seems only right that this self-empowered, inner directed, highly conscious new type of person should appear. The emergence of this True Individual is the logical consequence of everything that has come before. Because of the freedom we have acquired, because of our ever-increasing mental bent, and because of our yearning to know the many-sided, true truth of things, there is a compulsion of Nature to produce the next iteration of human life. It is the True Individual.

In parallel and concord with these developments, we see a powerful new system of society taking shape -- the Internet --, which is serving this New Individual’s needs in the extreme. Together they indicate that a new form of human existence is forming that is at once dynamic, creative, and spiritual in nature. It is a sign of the next stage of human progress: a signal of our evolution into a new way of living.

What is the driving force behind this phenomenon of social conformity?

So many people take social conformity for granted that not many bother to find out why it is such a powerful phenomenon and why so many people submit to this force without any resistance.

In ants and termite colonies the entire unit composed of thousands of individual ants or termites act as one unit and there is hardly any individual variation. The queen ant or termite spreads a chemical oozing out of her body through the entire assembly of ants and termites and that shared chemical bond somehow helps to keep the entire colony as one functional unit. But in a human community composed of countless individuals such unvarying conformity as found in ant colonies will be very surprising. It will be because humans are conscious individuals with a free will and unthinking submission to the Collective as found in Animal groups is something unthinkable.

But such submission is very much there and it is therefore worth finding out what endows this social conformity with such a tremendous force.  It is easy to understand that in traditional pre-modern societies which saw very little change, uniform submission to the established custom and usage was the norm. For example in pre-industrial India which was feudal and agrarian, the priestly community held sway and monarchs ruled with absolute power. In such stagnant and conservative times, hardly anybody deviated from the standard custom and practice. Untouchables hardly aspired to rise above their station in society as menials, people followed the hereditary profession of their community, women submitted to the authority of men and widows hardly dared to remarry.

Though such strict submission to the authority of the social Collective is not there anymore in democratic and industrialized societies, still social conformity is widely prevalent and why it is still so needs to be explored.  Three main factors appear as prominent reasons for social conformity to be still in force.

Power of habit which simply keeps perpetuating itself.

Fear of punishment and social ostracism.

Power of inertia and unwillingness to change.

Power of habit in enforcing social conformity

As said earlier, in traditional societies men simply followed the profession of their forefathers and engaged in what was known as the hereditary occupation of their community. Though the feudal and agrarian nature of society has changed considerably, this habit is still very much prevalent.  Even today in modern India members of the priestly community still try to practice only certain chosen professions prescribed  in the ancient scriptures for them and will shun certain other professions as beneath them even if they are monetary rewarding now.  Setting up a leather factory or show showroom may be a lucrative profession now. But members of the priestly community won’t jump at this as this has been prohibited for them in their scriptures.

Many Indians took to the civil service under the British Raj as it gave them a sustained income, authority of government service and security of job.  Even though the economy has changed considerably since the British left India, this fascination with government service still continues very much and many an Indian father still points to the civil service as the safe haven for his son even though prosperity looms large just outside the confines of civil service. 

Many anachronistic practices continue in society simply by power of habit. The British coat and suit continues in tropical India even after the Britisher has left a long time ago.  Corporate executives are afraid to break out of this mold simply due to fear of non-conformity. Only in the IT sector where people are allowed to dress casually have people dared to break out of this coat and suit syndrome and dress as they like.  The age of extracting work by exercise of authority and issuing order has passed a long time ago and has been replaced by the age of consensus and collaboration. Still many corporate bosses function in the old style and issue executive fiats with little consultation with those below.  Those below are obeying the executive fiats simply out of fear of questioning authority as their predecessors have done for generations. Only in the IT industry have people changed and the Team leader is seen as one among the team and not as some remote figure of authority.

Fear of punishment and ostracism

Many people will behave in an individualistic manner if they are not frightened of being punished and ostracized for not conforming to existing social standards.  Galileo was put under house arrest and forced to disown his discoveries when his endorsements of Copernicus’s observations about the earth orbiting the sun displeased the Church.  Many a young man and woman control themselves from falling in love and having a love marriage for fear of being ostracized and rejected b y parents and relatives in India as a love marriage may turn out to be an inter-caste marriage.

During the days of anti-Hindi agitation in Tamil Nadu, politicians who recognized the value of Hindi were afraid to speak out in the Tamil Nadu assembly in favour of introducing Hindi in schools as they were afraid of being shouted down.  Poet Subramanya Bharathi was a fearless individualist who did not care for social ridicule or ostracism. He freely moved with lower caste people, walked holding his wife’s hand on the street and wrote inflammatory articles opposing the British Raj. But such men are rare.  Most men will hesitate to deviate from the social norm for fear of being punished and will suppress their individualism to a great extent so as to appear all right in the eyes of society. 

Fear of change and role of inertia in opposing change

Familiarity gives a feeling of security and unfamiliarity generates fear and insecurity.  This is very true of animals and not any less true of man also. Animals show reluctance when they are forced to move away from familiar territory and will try their best to come back to their old home grounds. Men are also very reluctant to move away from familiar places unless they are pressed by famine, war and persecution to leave their home lands.  So basically there is something in man that feels comfortable with familiar conditions and distrusts anything new and different from what he knows as normal.

Exploring new territories is a forbidding task that not many take up eagerly. That is why ancient explorers like Columbus and all those who set out to explore the new world became noteworthy figures for daring to do something so risky. This fear of unknown territory gradually got extended to new ideas and customs and practices that were not heard of before or practiced by the community that one belongs to.  

Indian villagers were afraid to receive small pox vaccinations as they have never heard of such a treatment before for preventing small pox. They were only used to covering the stricken patient with neem leaves. So suddenly when the Englishman came up with something new called vaccination it aroused suspicion and distrust.  Sailors used to wooden boats were skeptical when steel ships were fabricated for sailing in the oceans. The same fear came with respect to air planes when they came on the scene.

Such fears are not confined to new territory and new machines alone. New ideas can also evoke the same fear.  The concept of the U.N maintaining a global army and individual nations disbanding their national armies is something so unconventional that individual nations feel insecure about implementing this proposal. Even an American President exhibited fear when the idea of paper currency was mooted as a replacement for gold and silver coins. The ideas of Karl Marx about a communist type of social organization generated fear in the minds of people living in capitalist countries as they feared the total collapse of all that they were familiar with if communism gains ground.

So when change is feared in so many ways individuals who are constantly taking new initiatives that are unconventional are feared and shunned as agents of social instability. Moreover efforts to change demand a lot of energy and strain and people resist such extra efforts as painful.  People who are used to keeping their house dirty will find it to be a painful effort if they are told to keep their house clean. So those who are lazy by disposition will reject advice to keep their house clean even if it is beneficial and makes the house look attractive. Similarly people who are satisfied with a minimum income in a secure salaried job will find efforts to start their own self-enterprise painful and will resent those who offer such advice.  So one can imagine the fear and distrust an unconventional individualistic type of person will evoke when he goes about asking others to give up what they are familiar with and accept something unknown before. Such is the fear that Socrates evoked when he asked people to think about truth, justice and proper government etc. Normal citizens of Athens had never thought about these things and felt uncomfortable facing such questions. News spread to the government of Athens about the troublesome questions raised by Socrates and he was immediately branded as a disturber of social peace and punished with death by drinking poison.  So inertia and fear of change are also powerful factors that keep people committed to social conformity. 

Individuality, Democracy, Education & Culture

Individuality, freedom and democracy

These are very closely related. People with individualistic traits normally want freedom of operation and democracy gives much more freedom than monarchy, dictatorship or communism. The leaders of the French Revolution, Voltaire and Rousseau and leaders of the American war of Independence were highly individualistic men who resented the oppressive authority of the monarchy and the mother country.

Individuality and Education

There is no field more conducive to individuality than education. Individualists are     people who think in their own unique way and they exhibit creativity and originality. Education can train people to become individualists by encouraging original thinking and by promoting traits such as self-reliance, persistence and lack of fear of social ostracism, etc.

A major reason for the rapid advance of Western countries is that their educational system is geared to developing an individualistic personality while in the Asian countries such as India the educational system is geared to producing students who will be conforming to prevailing social customs and beliefs. If the educational system in India is redesigned to promote individualistic personalities, we can expect acceleration in the growth of this country very soon. 

Individuality and Culture 

If culture is understood as the pursuit of higher ideals and not just refinement of   manners, then individuality definitely helps in the promotion of culture. When American youth in the 1960s got disenchanted with the pursuit of wealth, comfort and status that were the goals of the established society, they expressed their individuality by showing an interest in higher things like spirituality, back-to-nature movement and romantic love without the conventional bindings of marriage. Though outwardly their protest against the establishment made them look unkempt and become irregular in their life-styles, the essence of their protest was an individualistic aspiration for higher cultural and psychological and spiritual pursuits. 

If one is a conformist, one simply honours the beliefs, customs and usages of the community or class that one is born into without hardly bothering to find out whether they are worthwhile. If on the other hand, a person has an individualistic turn of personality, he may not agree with the established values and practices of his community and may look for fresh values outside his circle as we find the hero of Pride and Prejudice novel by Jane Austen Mr. Darcy doing by courting Elizabeth who is outside his social circle.

Individuality and Social Progress

Individuality and collective unity are not mutually opposed as they appear to be superficially. Society gives the support of the collectivity to the Individual thereby enabling him to do many things that he cannot do by himself while the pioneering and innovative acts of individuals help society progress and advance. As such their interaction can be a healthy and mutually beneficial association. Society therefore stands to gain by fostering the individuality of its members since such individualistic members will only accelerate the development of the society in the long run when their actions begin to have their effects on the larger society around them.

Individuals who seem to be breaking established social customs and regulations may appear to be destabilizing the society. But such dislocations are only temporary and a higher stability will be restored later on. Luther severely disturbed the peace and order prevailing in Europe when he came out with his protestant principles. When the Catholic Church failed to crush his rebellion, the situation calmed down and the followers of the Protestant sect were much freer to continue their worship without the restrictions of the church coming in the way.

The Hippy generation and their unconventional ways were a sign of individualistic protest against the empty and hollow pursuits of the conventional society which was merely after money and social status and nothing more worthwhile. Their protest seemed to disturb the order and regularity of conventional society. But after some two decades of their protest, society seems to have learnt some useful lessons from that experience. There is better awareness of environmental health and safety, more importance given to real worth and true accomplishment than to formal social status and outer appearances, etc.

Sri Aurobindo and The Mother have predicted the emergence of the supramental spiritual individual in the coming future. He may have nothing of the disturbing effects that are associated with individuals who initiate social reforms and cause revolutions etc. Since he operates from the unity of the Supermind which has seen the whole, his impact on the society may be smooth and gradual and help in the transformation of society to the higher level without the dislocations normally associated with individuals bent on social reform.

The individual is such because, in many ways  forged by  the socio-cultural environment in which he or she are borne, develop and  educated. Hence the cultural context creates the individual unique as such and at the same time  influences he or she in its uniqueness. Even in the  past centuries the cultural context  has been multicultural, it is sufficient to recall the many cultures that have either coexisted or over lapped within a given  historical moment in my own country, Italy. I could, by my choice, start by recalling the roman culture influenced by the prisoners brought into Rome from many Mediterranean countries or the  Middle East or by the influences by invaded countries. All brought their values or influenced from the external such as  from what is today Rumania,  but all did infiltrate the Romans culture and hence influenced values. I could go on through the centuries only in relation of my country and see the overlapping of cultures which mean  influences on values hence choices hence impact on society. 

The individuality which emerges is richer and may interchange over and over starting from the family, the spirituality shared trough  the family or education as well as different relations in life forges the individual. So  individuality  is per se multifaceted and hence capable or not, according to the context, to   remain closed in its individuality or open to other individualities so as to be able to coexist and grow. I have deepened some how the issue of multicultural Rome and later multicultural Italy  which, to survive, acquired    modes of life that made  multicultural coexistence possible. It is a long time process that each part of the world has gone and is  ever more rapidly  going through, in different manners but has to  be recalled , when facing the “Relationships between the individual and the social collective” as the issue of peaceful coexistence, at least, has to be gained.

These are thoughts emerging from history but this is not now sufficient and this is why the project is so important. What   present recognition  and indeed, given great continuous changes and exchanges between different individualities and socio-cultural contexts  may become in  the upcoming futures one of the most important issues. This is not only important  in general terms but is related to what is the responsibility that each individual has in relation to its  social collective from which it has been forged, that is towards futures generations. This is why it is important to search in the “Relationships between the individual and the social collective”.  for seeds of change in whatever direction they seam to lead  so as to gear the relationship in the best possible direction.

[I found this article  on Thoreau and Individuality by Cicely Richard that strikes me as still very timely, and could add to our discussion.]

Henry David Thoreau, a Transcendentalist, believed that individuals should be self-reliant and live a simple life. Thoreau feels that people are conforming to prescribed norms and losing autonomy. His belief in individualism leads him to Walden Pond and breeds his collection of essays, "Walden." Published in 1854, the book chronicles his journey to seclusion and his attitudes about the lack of individualism around him. The section entitled "Economy" is a castigation of society as he saw it.

Thoreau points out how men are losing their humanity. He states that they work at unfulfilling jobs just to get by day by day. Instead of being viewed as individuals, humans have "no time to be anything but a machine." By stating that men are no better than machines, he points to the mediocrity of life. Machines are tools utilized to accomplish a task. Nevertheless, autonomy is replaced by productivity.

Furthermore, Thoreau views inheriting material things as a means by which individuality is lost. He feels sorry for these people because of their lack of vision. He says, "I see young menwhose misfortune it is to have inherited farmsfor these are more easily acquired than got rid of." By saying that these possessions are hard to get rid of, he points out the difficulty of letting go and holding on the past. In Thoreau's eyes, inheritance equals lack of individuality.

Thoreau criticizes public opinion because it robs people of the choice as to how they wish to be viewed. He says opinions hamper autonomy. Public opinion is a weak tyrant compared with our own private opinion. What a man thinks of himself, that it is which determines, or rather indicates, his fate." This quote indicates the importance of a person's opinion of himself rather than what others think. Thoreau says what a person thinks of himself is a better indicator of life's outcome.

The elderly possess wisdom as a result of life experience; however, Thoreau writes that what they say is not important. He says that "the old have no very important advice to give the young, their own experience has been so partialHere is life, an experiment to a great extent untried by me." Thoreau considers the uniqueness of each person's life experience, so advice from older people has no bearing on personal experience. Life is an experiment. Subsequently, individualism means rejecting the conventional wisdom of the aged.

Thoreau not only rejects the wisdom of the elderly; he even rejects the ideals of youth. He says that this is flawed, as well. He says, "Every generation laughs at the old fashions, but follows religiously the new." Young people generally try forming ideas that conflict with their elders. In an attempt to rebel, they construct their own world view. However, Thoreau reveals that following new ideals does not foster individualism. In contrast, the young still conform to someone else's ideals.

Yet, people can change, even if they've spent their lives living by someone else's rules. He says, "It is never too late to give up our prejudices." Change is hard when it is in opposition to those in your community. But, in order to attain individual identities, it is important to let go of established institutions.

Thoreau tries living according to his ideals of individualism, even escaping from society. His life reveals his constant attempt to buck the system. Although his words are more than 100-years-old, they still resonate in our society of conformity. By Cicely Richard.

Individuality evolves and is being shaped by social interaction with others. We become what we are not just out of our own volition. It is important, therefore, to differentiate the social and cultural context in which individuals function. This has for long been the purview of sociologists and anthropologists and the challenge is how we make sense of it in the contemporary global context where people live under very different circumstances. Compare, for instance, a secular and civic country like Denmark with other places where either religion or ethnicity reigns. The point is that some individuals grow up in societies where they have a choice; where voluntarism prevails. Others find themselves confined to primary forms of social organizations like family, clan or tribe. Some are caught in social organizations that are inclusive; others in those that are exclusive in nature. As individuals they take in different values and help sustain, but also change, the environment in which they function. The following figure hopefully illustrates what I am arguing:

                                                    Different types of social capital

                                                     Exclusivist                                                   

                                      Bonding                    Blinding

                       Primary_________________________________Secondary

                                       Binding                    Bridging

                                                     Inclusivist

Bonding social capital is the context in which individuals find themselves wherever family and other ascriptive ties are strong. Blinding capital is found especially in religious organizations where individuality is shaped by strong beliefs in a God. Examples abound from around the world and this type of social capital has become increasingly important in shaping individuality in the contemporary context. It should perhaps be added that blinding social capital is also prevalent among sports fans although it could be argued that it is not likely to rest quite as deep as social capital rooted in religious beliefs. Bridging social capital is what Robert Putnam associates with civicness and is, in his view, the preferred type of social capital because it is most likely to support liberal democracy. Binding social capital, finally, is necessary in multi-cultural societies where compromise across cultural boundaries is necessary to keep them going. The consociational versions of compromise in the Netherlands and Switzerland would be cases in point, as would multi-ethnic countries, say in Africa, where successful political governance rests on pragmatic “deals” among elites.

So, like Winston Nagan has argued in his contribution, individuality is shaped in interaction with others. Who they are, and how they are organized matters – along the lines suggested in the figure above.