Holism, individualism, personalism: from Platonic dualism to the dispute over a source and status of human individuality (N. Elias, I. Berlin, R. Rorty)

• Main Author: Zbigniew Ambrożewicz
• Format: Article
• Language: deu
• Published: Wydawnictwo Naukowe Uniwersytetu Szczecińskiego 2015-03-01
• Series: Analiza i Egzystencja
• Subjects: individualism; personalism; dualism; holism; Immanuel Kant; Isaiah Berlin; Norbert Elias; Richard Rorty
• Online Access: http://egzystencja.whus.pl/wp-content/uploads/2015/01/30-Ambrożewicz-Holizm-indywidualizm-personalizm.pdf

Individualism as a way of feeling and comprehension of reality has been a basic element of Western civilization for a long time. In 20th century individualism was criticized by personalism and similar currents. I shall point to the dualistic source (Platonic, Christian, Cartesian and Kantian) of the personalist criticism of individualism which also was, in my opinion, more or less apparent inspiration of later sociological and social-anthropological research on relationships between individual and society. I also try to answer what the social or ontological status of commonly accepted modern individualistic values is.