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Science Forum Index » Psychology Forum » Individual & Society: Chicken & Egg...
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| Chris Degnen... |
 Posted: Sun May 11, 2008 12:33 pm |
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Norbert Elias on the false dichotomy of 'individuals & society':
"It is not entirely without significance for the discussion of such
problems that, within the broad field of society, disputes are
taking place between parties, classes and states which legitimize
themselves by social professions of faith based on diametrically
opposed _valuations_ of 'individual' and 'society'. In their
most popular form, the professions of one side present the
'individual' as a means and the 'social whole' as the supreme
value and purpose, while others regard 'society' as the means
and 'individuals' as the supreme value and purpose. And in
both cases these ideals and goals of political thought and action
are often presented as facts. What one side says _should_ be is
thought and spoken of as if it _is_. For example, members of a
group in which it is loyal to demand and wish that the claims of
the state or other organization _should_ have precedence over
those of individuals, may believe they perceive that social
collectives of this or that kind _are_ actually, at all times, more
real and carry greater weight than the individuals who form them.
And members of groups in which it is loyal to demand and wish
that the claims of individuals _should_ have priority over those
of the group, often believe they can observe that individuals are
the true reality, that which actually exists, while societies are
something that comes afterwards, something less real and
perhaps even a mere figment of thought, an abstraction. In both
cases what is demanded and desired merges in consciousness
with what observably is. And in keeping with the strength of the
disturbances and tensions to which the holders of such opposed
views are exposed within their social context, it is usually the
former that gain the upper hand."
(The Society of Individuals, 1991, pp. 83-84) |
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