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It is easy in the world to live after the world's opinions; it is easy in solitude to live after your own; but the great man is he who in the midst of the crowd keeps with perfect sweetness. the independence of solitude”

Read Stargirl.

And whoever reads that or knows what it's about, all i can say is that what is shown in that book, a rough outline of that happened in my own life.

Individualism is good, but I dislike people who have no mind of their own and mindlessly follow the herd just as much as i dislike people who do things/behave in a certain way "just because everyone else does it in a different way" and not because they genuinely feel that that's what they want to do.

I tend to the individualist side but only when i see merit in doing things differently and general advantage, increased efficiency or "fun factor" .
However I would barely behave any differently even if i'd meet a group of people who share my behavioral traits exactly 1:1, I am who I am because I believe in my values, not someone else's.

As they say, too much of anything is bad for your health.

Stargirl? Read The Fountainhead, Atlas Shrugged, or Anthem if you want a detailed account of individualism...

Locust Queen wrote:Stargirl? Read The Fountainhead, Atlas Shrugged, or Anthem if you want a detailed account of individualism...

stargirl is good because it only has 59 a4 pages, so you can literally read it in one evening.

I was thinking, Self Reliance by Ralph Waldo Emerson. Atlas Shrugged is pretty good, if you can plow through, but its lessons should be taken with a grain of salt. haven't herd of the other two.

Im merely trying to start a topic about the importance of thinking for one self and shaping our opinions about the outside world based our own knowledge and experience and the dangers of taking other opinions at face value (religion, politics,...)

Basically i'm tired of the sheeple.

Agreed, and Rand wrote Anthem and The Fountainhead. Atlas was her bible, Anthem is the summary of her ideals, and The Fountainhead is her best. We The Living is supposed to be good but I can't find it.

Independence is the only gauge of human virtue and value. What a man is and makes of himself; not what he has or hasn't done for others. There is no substitute for personal dignity. There is no standard of personal dignity except independence.
-Howard Roark in Ayn Rand's Fountainhead

Locust Queen wrote:Independence is the only gauge of human virtue and value. What a man is and makes of himself; not what he has or hasn't done for others. There is no substitute for personal dignity. There is no standard of personal dignity except independence.
-Howard Roark in Ayn Rand's Fountainhead

excellent ideas in there.

Because when i person is self reliant they are the ones who are most capable and able to contribute within their community, no man is an island. In order to really help your community. You must first be able to be self reliant.

There are far too many people out there who are succubus' (Nietzsche had a better word) within society. And never mature past a child like level of maturity and self reliance.

YOu might think I'm talking about the "poor" but many poor people i know are rich in many other areas of their lives, They are extremely handy are able to make due with what they have. They merely suffer from a lack of education.

conversely their are those that i have met and read about who accumulate their estate on the merits of other's. They are not poor in assets but they are social parasites. They sell and market us crap we don't need, steal tax money. Knowingly exploit people's deeply held beliefs and hard work for personal gain.

YOu might make the argument that their ability to accumulate wealth shows that they are self reliant and valuable individuals. But i believe they represent a disease within society that we have been trying to breed out with every new societal shift that has come along. What is a society but an attempt at co-operation and trust for the betterment of a group.

The examples these lazy detractors set, breads in animosity, distrust, and hate. How can any society hope to flourish when people can excel through the use and application of those ideas.

no free will... determinism... yadda yadda..

individualism..is a concept created in the wake of our own ignorance concerning free will. At the end of the day, we are just cause and effect machines with a little colour, some more than others.

Conscience? I forgot what one of those was years ago...

Semper wrote:no free will... determinism... yadda yadda..

individualism..is a concept created in the wake of our own ignorance concerning free will. At the end of the day, we are just cause and effect machines with a little colour, some more than others.

Conscience? I forgot what one of those was years ago...

Individualism, in the way i am using it, refers to the ability to be self reliant.

Conscience refers to your ability to shape your own thoughts, through self examination, and critical thinking.

and i'm talking about the way they relate to people.
Since you don't meet that precondition i wouldn't expect you to understand.

[spoiler]Can you plz actually engage in some descent discussion[/spoiler]

Thriller wrote:

Semper wrote:no free will... determinism... yadda yadda..

individualism..is a concept created in the wake of our own ignorance concerning free will. At the end of the day, we are just cause and effect machines with a little colour, some more than others.

Conscience? I forgot what one of those was years ago...

Individualism, in the way i am using it, refers to the ability to be self reliant.

Conscience refers to your ability to shape your own thoughts, through self examination, and critical thinking.

and i'm talking about the way they relate to people.
Since you don't meet that precondition i wouldn't expect you to understand.

[spoiler]Can you plz actually engage in some descent discussion[/spoiler]

ahh... well.. no, I cannot at the moment.. I dont have it in me. lol... for the time being I am purely bound to the mundane world.

Have no fear Thriller, I will return in time to kick your arse.

Hmm this is interesting but something I havent really read much on, could someone provide me with some links to read up or some books i should look into ??

Thanks

Anything by Ayn Rand

Self Reliance by Ralph Waldo Emerson

Its a philosophy essay, so it won't take you a month to read, lol unlike Rand

I read Atlas in 3 days lol