An Evaluation of Traditional Concepts of an Individual Essay

An Evaluation of Traditional Concepts of an Individual - Essay Example There were also those who have sought personal glory and conquests, individuals like Napoleon Bonaparte, Adolph Hitler and Julius Cesar all of which had their own vision and version of the "ideal society" in which they sought to dominate. And finally there were those who have been known for their infamy and notoriety, otherwise known as deviants or villains. Is there anything that separates them and the other individuals The answer may be lie on the fact that these individuals may have discovered what it takes to be an individual that can stand above others. Or perhaps they have not been aware of the fact that they were exceptional or maybe they made their purpose clear to themselves that they want to achieve something that will grant them dominion above others. In any case, the individual is truly unique and each has the potential of unimaginable glory and achievement. This paper discusses some traditional and conventional concepts of the individual like how and what it take to be a n individual, how does the individual perceive his or herself, how are they able to cause either damage or benefit the environment and other individuals that they have been involved with. Any normal person would refer... Individual's posses a high sense of self that they have may have acquired during the early stages of development. The term "human being" has been the subject of debate for years, but in the traditional sense is synonymous to a person or an individual. Some sociologists and anthropologists adhere to this classical definition of the person while some say that this definition should be expanded. Others have proposed a total redefinition of what a person is. The classical definition is quite tricky, a person may also be defined as someone who is entitled to basic rights but then there are also other beings that are entitled to such rights such as the right to live for example ("Persons"; "Cultural Identity"). Some psychologists have been in fact went to as far as defining a person as a gestalt of thoughts and never defining it in the material sense, although this is too extreme. The individual can be defined when one is aware of his or herself. This "Conscious Theory of the Mind" suggests that the individual creates a mental image of his or herself a sort of "mental construct" which is distinct from anybody else. In an experiment by George Gallup in 1970, he demonstrates that some higher primates like chimpanzees. This experiment was a variation of the "Mark of Rouge" experiment where children a year old or more were written with a "mark of rouge", actually an erasable mark made with a crayon, in their foreheads. The child was placed in front of a mirror and was let to observe his or herself. Most of the children in the age of exactly one year reacted to their mirror image as if they saw another child. Older children simply wiped away their "rouge markings" once they observed