Thinking about modern society, in English Class utilizing "I" in phrases is an unusual concept to predecessors, yet it is common in emotional, nonpolitical and creative writing. In higher levels of education we are taught rhetorical and technical writing; wherein, "I" is removed from essays to project a stance as a logical observer or ally an individual to persons of accomplishment. In this way one person becomes many.
Enjoying growing up, the higher sense of self and stance with only the statement of "I" is rewarding. "I think" and "I feel" are important statements. It allows a person to assess events from the only real primary source. There is no contradictory argument. I have seen with my eyes and felt with my heart. Though people might see similar facts and events through different perspectives what I see and experience has the most impact on me.
Theoretically, "I" is a stable concept within itself. Individuals are responsible for meeting consensus to change a group. Overtime crowds change along with people's perception. Individuals have shown they are more than their family's history, monetary placement and opinions from others. While family and "breeding" provide advantages and disadvantages through learning social behaviors and receiving advantageous tools to gain a reputation through merit, merit through personal action remains the core principle of what a person offers in competitive free markets. I might have relatives I never met and who are famous artists. Their ability to paint does not reflect on my artistic vision gained through personal experience.
While "I" is a nice concept, society is important, because "I" ends where another "I" begins. Society is the agenda of masses to stop people from endangering or crippling progress and survival through consensus between larger numbers. As Ortega y Gasset observes the crowd becomes an individual that is also fearful, protective and suffers from becoming overly vigilant. The crowd also matures and grows throughout time. The crowd determines important qualities of a person for the functioning of society, yet there are thousands of minerals and ores on Earth. Only a handful are useful to people. Similarly, people have many traits making them an individual, though only a few are useful to other people.
Often the crowd wants to utilize every aspect of a person to produce more; however, as a person loses humanity they become more useless through over exhaustion, disconnection from society or retaliation. The many non-useful habits and activities are actually important. It is as important as the several thousands of useless minerals and ores we walk on.
While being free of unrealistic demands of a crowd is great. When thinking of an individual without restraint I do not imagine a healthy, intelligent person. Instead, I imagine a justification of selfish needs to override the needs of other people producing fights over material or physical needs. Sometimes it produces a criminal victimizing an unwilling participant.
There is no standard of virtue, intelligence, usefulness or beauty without a comparison to someone else. These are the standards Kierkegaard failed to mention or establish when developing the concept of "I." The relationship of finding higher spirituality depends on a ranking system between people practicing the highest levels of conforming to religious prose to the lowest levels of deforming and subjugating religious prose.
Often overly zealous groups without direction become violent and aggressive in attempts to suppress other people. Often this zeal for control or elimination of dysfunction is linked to war. Though the Bible recommends avoiding cult behavior; cult behavior become systematic as the crowd agrees an activity is systematic in causing undesirable effects.
Though the Bible recommends avoiding taking responsibility for another person's money or well-being beyond a service or merchant contract, we find our government requiring companies to provide health insurance, pension and unemployment insurance. Methods to undermine resolve includes science, shame and individuals reaching an understanding that they have become overly aggressive causing another problem to fix. Individuals must converse and decide on how to resolve issues.
An individual could live in the wilderness hunting, fishing and building a shelter without contact with another human for years; however, they would have to learn how to hunt, fish and build a shelter from someone. Even without human contact there are factual barriers from doing whatever they want without repercussions. Animals live in the wilderness and offer resistance to becoming food. Fruits and berries only grow certain times of the year. Fires and natural disasters occur anywhere. Society does not exist without society though individuals are useless without society.
Related Article
Study of Nothing
Quirky Books
The Crowd is Untruth by Howard N. Tuttle