Psychology Dictionary of ArgumentsHome
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| Individualism: Individualism is a political philosophy that emphasizes the intrinsic worth of the individual. It is often contrasted with collectivism, which emphasizes the importance of the group over the individual. See also Society, Community, Political philosophy._____________Annotation: The above characterizations of concepts are neither definitions nor exhausting presentations of problems related to them. Instead, they are intended to give a short introduction to the contributions below. – Lexicon of Arguments. | |||
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Herbert Spencer on Individualism - Dictionary of Arguments
Gaus I 101 Individualism/Spencer/Gaus: ‘Human beings in society,’ Mill claimed, ‘have no properties but those which are derived from, and which may be resolved into, the laws of the nature of individual men’ (1963b(1): 879; see also Bentham, 1987(2): ch. I, s. 4). Spencer agreed: ‘the properties of the mass are dependent upon the attributes of its component parts’ (1995(3): 1). VsIndividualism/Gaus: In the last years of the nineteenth century this individualist view was increasingly subject to attack, especially by those who were influenced by idealist philosophy (...) D. G. Ritchie, criticizing Spencer’s philosophy in 1891, explicitly rejected the idea that society is simply a ‘heap’ of individuals, insisting that it is more akin to an organism, with a complex internal life (1902(2): 13). >Individualism/Ritchie. 1. Mill, John Stuart (1963b) A System of Logic: Ratiocinative and Inductive. In J. M. Robson, ed., The Ratiocinative and Inductive. In J. M. Robson, ed., The Collected Works of John Stuart Mill. Toronto: University of Toronto Press, vols VII and VIII. 2. Bentham, Jeremy (1987) Introduction to the Principles of Morals and Legislation. In Utilitarianism and Other Essays, ed. Alan Ryan. Harmondsworth: Penguin. 3. Spencer, Herbert (1995) Social Statics. New York: Robert Schalkenback Foundation. Gaus, Gerald F. 2004. „The Diversity of Comprehensive Liberalisms.“ In: Gaus, Gerald F. & Kukathas, Chandran 2004. Handbook of Political Theory. SAGE Publications._____________Explanation of symbols: Roman numerals indicate the source, arabic numerals indicate the page number. The corresponding books are indicated on the right hand side. ((s)…): Comment by the sender of the contribution. Translations: Dictionary of Arguments The note [Concept/Author], [Author1]Vs[Author2] or [Author]Vs[term] resp. "problem:"/"solution:", "old:"/"new:" and "thesis:" is an addition from the Dictionary of Arguments. If a German edition is specified, the page numbers refer to this edition. |
Spencer I Herbert Spencer The Man versus the State Indianapolis 2009 Gaus I Gerald F. Gaus Chandran Kukathas Handbook of Political Theory London 2004 |
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> Counter arguments against Spencer
> Counter arguments in relation to Individualism
