History of Philosophy: Individualism
Individualism is the moral and philosophical stance that centers the individual over the community, valuing independence and self-reliance as well as promoting the gains of the individual over the state or a social grouping such as the family or community, while also opposing influences from the state or social group on the individual, based on the 'fundamental premise that the human individual is of primary importance in the struggle for liberation'. Some of the fields of philosophy under individualism include humanism, freethought, anarchism, and hedonism, among many others that have developed from those, with philosophers such as Diogenes, Protagoras, Laozi, and Zeno involved in their development.
Hedonism is considered 'one of the oldest philosophical theories. Some interpreters trace it back to the Epic of Gilgamesh, written around 2100-200 BCE', and is a 'family of philosophical views that priorities pleasure' and the 'theory that all human behavior is motivated by the desire to maximize pleasure and minimize pain' and 'suggests that people only help others if they expect a personal benefit'. This pleasure can be physical or psychological, as can the pain, making it 'difficult to measure this balance and compare it between different people'. Aristippus of Cyrene, who lived from 435-356 BCE is usually identified as the 'earliest philosophical proponent', formulating an 'egoistic hedonism, arguing that personal pleasure is the highest good', holding that people were 'focused on the gratification of immediate sensory pleasures with little concern for long-term consequences'. Plato, who lived from about 428-347 BCE, countered with a view that 'proposed a balanced pursuit of pleasure that aligns with virtue and rationality' and Aristotle, who lived from 384-322 BCE, 'associated pleasure with eudaimonia or the realization of natural human capacities, like reason'. Epicurus, who lived from 341-271 BCE, took a more nuanced view of pleasure, further contrasting with those of Aristippus and his followers, stating that 'excessive desires result in anxiety and suffering, suggesting instead that people practice moderation, cultivate a tranquil state of mind, and avoid pain'. Antisthenes, who lived from 446-366 BCE, and the Cynics who followed him 'warned against the pursuit of pleasure, viewing it as an obstacle to freedom, while the Stoics dismiss hedonism altogether. In India, during about the 6th-5th centuries BCE, a form of egoistic hedonism developed based on the 'belief in the non-existence of God or an afterlife, this school advocates enjoying life in the present to the fullest', though many other Indian traditions advocate for an ascetic lifestyle, such as Jainism, Buddhism, and Hinduism. In China, Yang Zhu, who lived from about 440-360 BCE, 'argued that it is human nature to follow self-interest and satisfy personal desires', founding the school of Yangism during the Warring States period.
Anarchism has roots that go back to ancient Greece and China and is a philosophy that 'seeks to abolish all institutions that perpetuate authority, coercion, or hierarchy, primarily targeting the state and capitalism'. In China, philosophers such as Zhuang Zhou, who lived in the 4th century BCE during the Warring States period, and Laozi, who lived sometime between the 6th-4th century BCE, questioning the legitimacy of the state and Taoism 'has been said to have had "significant anticipations" of anarchism'. In ancient Greece, both philosophers and tragedians such as Aeschylus and Sophocles 'used the myth of Antigone to illustrate the conflict between laws imposed by the state and personal autonomy', with Antigone being the daughter of Oedipus and daughter/granddaughter of Jocasta, Oedipus' mother and wife, and the fate imposed on her when the incestuous relationship of her parents becomes known. Socrates, who lived from about 470-399 BCE, 'questioned Athenian authorities constantly and insisted on the right of individual freedom of conscience' and the Cynics taught that living according to nature (physis) was more important than living by human laws (nomos) and the Stoics felt that 'a society based on unofficial and friendly relations among its citizens without the presence of the state' was the ideal. Mazdak, a Zoroastrian monk who died somewhere around 524 or 528 CE, advocated for 'an egalitarian society and the abolition of monarchy, only to be soon executed by Emperor Kavad I'.
Humanism is a complex philosophical stance that has changed meaning over the centuries, but can be thought of as 'a philosophical stance that emphasizes the individual and social potential, and agency of human beings, whom it considered the starting point for serious moral and philosophical inquiry'. While it is often associated with the Renaissance, it has roots going back to pre-Socratic philosophers. Protagoras, who lived around 440 BCE, 'put forward some fundamental humanist ideas', but only fragments of his work survive, including the first known agnostic statement: 'About the gods I am able to know neither that they exist nor that they do not exist nor of what kind they are inform: for many things prevent me from knowing this, its obscurity and the brevity of man's life'. Socrates turned philosophy from nature to humans with his need to 'know thyself'. He was also executed for atheism, despite being a theist, because of investigating 'the nature of morality by reasoning'. Aristotle continued this rationalism as well as a 'system of ethics based on human nature that also parallels humanist thought'. Epicurus also 'developed an influential, human-centered philosophy that focused on achieving eudaimonia', or general 'happiness' or 'welfare', which could be brought about through '[h]uman happiness, living well, friendship, and the avoidance of excess', which are considered core tenets of modern humanism.
Freethought, also spelled free thought, holds that 'beliefs should not be formed on the basis of authority, tradition, revelation, or dogma, and should instead be reached by other methods such as logic, reason, and empirical observation' and is 'strongly tied with rejection of traditional social or religious belief systems' and can be traced to 'the Hellenistic Mediterranean, in the repositories of knowledge and wisdom in Ireland and in the Iranian civilizations (for example in the era of Khayyam (1048-1131) and his unorthodox Sufi Rubaiyat poems)' as well as in the Chinese 'seafaring renaissance of the Southern Song dynasty of 1127-1279'. The writings of 'heretical thinkers on esoteric alchemy or astrology' also preserved older freethought philosophies through to the modern age.
