A definition : Self and Individualism
Submitted by: Bishal Nepal <bishalnepal@gmail.com>
My definition of "self" comes after knowing “who I am.” First, the
process of knowing “who I am” starts with interaction and communication
with social elements or ingredients: family, culture, geography,
language, economy, religion, tradition, and much more. During
childhood, a child cannot define “self.” But, with growth, he/she
learns to perceive and analyze social elements, thereby, his/her
understanding of "self" becomes more and more clear. Interaction or
communication is a two way process—give and take: a hide-seek game.
This process helps a child to develop logic and perception ability
inside subconscious brain, thereby, establishing an ability to analyze
social elements.
The process of analysis begins in a child when the child develops an
ability to rationalize elements, develop logic, and formulate opinion.
This analysis teaches a child to learn how to negotiate with other
members in a society. Social negotiation skill is dynamic and very
crucial to balance life and to play different roles for different
responsibilities to maintain different relationships. Analysis is acted
upon social elements, like in a multivariable calculus where each
social element is a variable, and finally, a result is iteratively
computed; the result allowing a more concrete "self" to emerge. The
analysis process is highly relative and individualistic; each child
comes with different computational result; therefore, each "self" will
be separate and distinct. Each computation is discrete at different
threshold; no two computations are same. Therefore, each "self" has a
separate logic, a separate experience, a separate perception ability,
and so on.
Social negotiation is a not only trade-type negotiation of
transactional motive, but a type of negotiation that maintains
stability in social relationships. This negotiation changes as elements
change, for example, if somebody brings to a child a long-desired gift
as a birthday gift, then his/her analysis would change, like a variable
would change in multivariable calculus, to compute a different result
for establishment of a newer relationship of a different threshold.
Therefore, this analysis process inside a child's mind is dynamic,
iterative, and highly unpredictable. Iteration conforms result, for
example, if a child sees his father getting drunk every day, next time
he would iteratively compute that he would be meeting a drunk father,
thereby, the child’s negotiation standpoint is predictive based on
pre-computed analysis that the father is always drunk. More clearly,
this means, the child’s attitude towards the father will only change if
the father is not drunk anymore—this is because a variable just changed.
Therefore, the output of subconsciously-performed abstract-computation of aforementioned variables will emerge as “self.”
I define individualism as an assertion to be unique from herd by
demonstrating abilities that are beyond ordinary. These abilities act
to solve problems of the world. Yet, still people forgo this feeling of
extreme individualism, at times, when they need to blend in with
society to serve a common purpose that does not require extra-ordinary
performance.
Individualism is a highest form of analytical ability of “self.”
Talking from a planar perspective, this individualism is of
sufficiently discrete amplitude at depth, yet homogeneously indiscrete
enough to blend in with every other "self" at a planar level.
Individualism at a marginal level will be homogeneous for those who are
statistically average in terms of analytical ability. Individualism
that is homogeneous is ordinary, and thus, may be meaningless. But,
individualism may off-shoot if an individual gains extra perceptive
power during aforementioned analysis process. This off-shoot of
individualism is extraordinary. In a society, whoever is beyond
ordinary is extra-ordinary. Therefore, individualism is not an
illusion; it is highly discrete, but homogeneous at a surface level to
serve a common purpose of society. Individualism co-exists in a society
at all levels, either in ordinary forms or in extra-ordinary forms.
These extra-ordinary forms are those who are leaders, and homogeneous
forms are those who are followers.
Thank you,
-Bishal Nepal
Cambridge, MA, USA
bishalnepal@gmail.com
