I. The Basics ↑
9. We favor individuation.
Although all humans share certain genetic similarities, and although we operate in groups, each individual human is unique.
This starts with a unique appearance for each of us, such that we can recognize friends and family and colleagues as individuals when we encounter them.
But each of us is also a unique bundle of capabilities, experiences and preferences.
What’s more, we tend towards individuation: both individuals and groups favor the development of capabilities and traits that will distinguish them from others.
Note that Dunbar’s number represents a suggested cognitive limit to the number of people with whom one can maintain stable social relationships. Estimates of this number range from 100 – 250, with 150 being a commonly accepted value.
This number may perhaps provide an effective limit to the number of people we can each know as individuals.
Words from Others on this Topic
Individual identity provides a foundation for love, friendship, and cooperation, allowing people to track who is who across time and place and to faithfully repay kindness offered by others.
Nicholas Christakis, 2019, from the book Blueprint: The Evolutionary Origins of a Good Society
True character arises from a deeper well than religion. It is the internalization of moral principles of a society, augmented by those tenets personally chosen by the individual, strong enough to endure through trials of solitude and adversity. The principles are fitted together into what we call integrity, literally the integrated self, wherein personal decisions feel good and true. Character is in turn the enduring source of virtue. It stands by itself and excites admiration in others. It is not obedience to authority, and while it is often consistent with and reinforced by religious belief, it is not piety.
E. O. Wilson, 1998, from the book Consilience: The Unity of Knowledge
Relevant Reference Models
- An element of The Social Suite
- An element of The Tribal Instincts
Next: 10. We observe the world around us